(Photo credit: CFJC Today).

By Stephanie Swensrude

TRANSIT TROUBLES

Bus driver shortage causing late, no-show buses

Feb 9, 2022 | 4:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — Buses are being cancelled with little to no notice across the city due to staff shortages.

“I’ve missed a few classes because of it. I get to the exchange on the North Shore, and it’ll pop up that they’ve canceled the bus and it’s an hour for the next one,” said one transit user.

“So many of us are getting screwed over because we rely on it so much. I don’t drive,” said another. “The buses are unreliable; you don’t know if they’re going to not come.”

Kamloops has been short approximately 20 drivers since September 2021. This shortage means there are few employees left to fill in when there are sick calls.

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“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve asked our employees and the employees of our operating companies to stay home if they’re not feeling well. And unfortunately, what can happen is a driver can go to bed feeling great and wake up in the morning with symptoms,” Jamie Weiss with BC Transit says.

Weiss says those sick calls can happen 45 minutes before a driver is supposed to be at work, and that may explain some of the last-minute changes.

BC Transit says the vaccine mandate introduced in the fall had an “extremely minimal” effect on staff numbers.

The union representing bus drivers in Kamloops, Unifor, said they are actively recruiting new drivers, but applicants are few and far between.

“In B.C. … right now there’s just a shortage of workers,” Gavin Davies, national staff representative for Unifor says.

To attract applicants, BC Transit now accepts those with a Class 5 license instead of the more advanced Class 2. Drivers earn their Class 2 through training and don’t have to pay for the license upgrade before applying.

“That also helps because you’re expanding the pool of applicants with people who have their class 5.”

BC Transit is currently training 12 new bus drivers, which brings them closer to a full staff. Until then, they recommend users sign up for alerts on the BC Transit website, where they will be notified as soon as possible of schedule changes.