Workforce Development and Driver Shortages in Small Urban and Rural Transit

Despite the retirement of transit managers in small urban and rural communities, succession planning to prepare local transit agencies is lacking. Applied research must be developed to provide a smooth transition for the public transportation industry as it moves forward. Current specific workforce shortages need to be considered as well. For example, a lack of qualified drivers in numerous small urban and rural communities has made providing high-quality transit service difficult to nearly impossible. These workforce labor shortages must be addressed or transit service in many small urban and rural areas may cease to exist in its present form. A national survey of small urban and rural transit managers was conducted to determine current workforce development practices. A cross-section of 170 viable responses were received from 42 different states. The majority of transit agency managers have been employed by their current agency for more than 10 years while nearly 65% of total respondents were 50 years of age or older. Almost 40% of respondents indicated they plan to retire within the next five years while 32% have a viable succession plan currently in place to reduce management turnover concerns. More than 90% of respondents indicated they have experienced driver shortages during the past two years. Lack of adequate driver compensation was the most-cited reason for driver shortages at 70% followed by a tight labor market at 57%. More than half of respondents indicated that aging/retiring drivers led to their driver shortages while 44% cited COVID-19 issues resulting in driver shortages within their agencies. Finally, poor work hours and unruly passengers were cited by 21% and 9% of managers, respectively.

• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=1120
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/67224
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

  Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility
  North Dakota State University
  Fargo, ND  United States 

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Peterson, Del
  • 0000-0002-2010-5542
  • Molina, Antonio
• Publication Date: 2023-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 31p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Public transit; Recruiting; Rural transit; Small cities; Surveys; Transit operators; Workforce development
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01881328
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: SURTCOM 23-16
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 26 2023 4:45PM