Transit systems all over the country are struggling to hire and retain enough bus operators to maintain planned levels of service. While headways and reliability suffer, there are a few cities that can offer lessons on how to maintain a workforce during the “Great Resignation.”

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has been working throughout the pandemic on several system-wide planning initiatives that have the potential to transform transit service in and around the city of Philadelphia.  

As of March 2022, SFMTA was operating 88% of pre-pandemic service and added back even more service in July.

New York City Transit’s service levels have remained remarkably strong throughout the pandemic. Crew operator availability remains the agency’s biggest challenge, as well as adjusting weekend maintenance schedules in order to run service that matches strong weekend demand.

SEPTA reduced service during last winter's Omicron surge. However, service levels rebounded significantly by March 2022, especially on bus and metro rail.

Mechanical problems with the 7000-series train cars and lapsed rail operator certifications have caused rail service levels on WMATA to plummet, but the agency is running 100% of pre-pandemic bus service.

November 2021 marked a downward shift for service delivery at CTA, and the agency has not recovered as strongly as might have been expected, given its early-pandemic track record.

Boston's MBTA is facing a variety of safety and staffing crises that are limiting its ability to continue to provide 100% of pre-pandemic service.

Earlier this year, we published a post about fluctuating transit service levels throughout 2021 at the seven highest ridership agencies...

TransitCenter’s new report, “Bus Operators in Crisis,” details the challenges American operators are facing, and offers solutions that transit agencies can take to solve issues locally. It also proposes steps that states and the federal government can take to support transit agencies.

Transit advocates across the U.S. are increasingly turning their attention to land use, in the hopes of implementing housing policies that ensure affordable options near high quality transit.