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.

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.

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.

In this post, we’re drilling down into 2021 service levels across mode in the seven highest ridership cities to see the choices agencies are making about how to allocate service, as well as to gauge the impact operator shortages are having. 

Agencies implementing bus network redesigns have to effectively communicate to riders how route changes will affect them.

The national transit operator and maintenance worker shortage is nothing less than an emergency, resulting in cuts to transit service affecting millions of riders.

Thousands of riders’ daily mobility needs may soon hinge on a dubious business model that has performed poorly in other places. The promises of cheap fares, shorter waits, and lower costs only hold up when few people use the system and transit workers are devalued.