ST. LOUIS — Heads up to all MetroBus riders!
Some changes are expected to kick in come Monday.
18 routes will be impacted in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, as the Bi-State Development Agency battles staffing shortages.
President and CEO Taulby Roach says, "These are really service adjustments. There's no elimination of routes."
This new plan will reduce the frequency of scheduled buses.
"It's really more where they may see a bus every 15 minutes, it'll move to 30 minutes," Roach explains.
Roach says they want to be as reliable as possible.
Sometimes, there aren't enough operators, so bus trips are canceled.
"This is just aimed at being sure that the service that we're putting out we're capable of doing with our resources, and that when we say the bus is going to show up, it shows up," Roach explains.
This isn't the fist time staffing shortages crippled the agency.
Back in November, it reduced services along 38 bus routes and suspended service entirely on six other lines.
At the time, it had 150 openings.
Antoian Johnson is with the union, ATU local 788, which represents nearly 3,000 transit workers. This also includes retirees.
He shares COVID has impacted the men and women behind the wheel.
"With our operators, we had a couple of operators and mechanics who passed of catching the virus," Johnson adds.
As of Friday, Metro is down 122 operators and mechanics.
]Johnson says this means more work for the current drivers.
"Sometimes they are asked to do as much as 15 hours. It's not like that all the time, but since there is a worker shortage, employees are asked to do a lot," Johnson said.
Roach explains they've stepped up their recruiting efforts to ease the burden.
It's increased operator pay and added a $2,000 hiring bonus.
But it's still a competitive market.
"We need really highly qualified operators. Not anybody can do this job, it's a difficult job," Roach says.
Every new hire is a way to help the current staff.
"They need a break. They need a rest," Roach notes.
As for riders, Johnson is asking for some patience, as they try to maneuver this new route.
"Be a little more patient with the operators because they are asked to deal with a lot," Johnson pleads.
Details for March 21 Service Change
#16 City Limits: Weekday and weekend schedule adjustments, with peak weekday service north of Delmar Loop Station operating on 30-minute frequency, and evening weekday and daytime weekend service operating on 40-minute frequency
#30 Arsenal: Weekend schedule adjustments
#31 Chouteau: Weekday schedule adjustments to improve connections at Maplewood Commons
#32 Dr. ML King: Weekday schedule adjustments with daytime service operating on 40-minute frequency
#33 Midland: Weekday schedule adjustments
#34 Earth City:Weekday schedule adjustments with off-peak daytime service operating on 60-minute frequency
#35 Rock Road: Weekday schedule adjustments with daytime service operating on 30-minute frequency
#58 Chesterfield Valley: Schedule adjustments to improve MetroLink connections at Clayton Transit Center
#61 Chambers: Weekday schedule adjustments with daytime service operating on 30-minute frequency and evening service operating on 40-minute frequency
#70 Grand: Weekday schedule adjustments with evening service operating on 30-minute frequency and first northbound trip to begin five minutes earlier than current schedule
#73 Carondelet: Weekday and weekend schedule adjustments with peak weekday service operating on 30-minute frequency, and evening weekday and daytime weekend service operating on 40-minute frequency
#74 Florissant: Weekday and weekend schedule adjustments with daytime weekday service operating on 30-minute frequency, and evening weekday and daytime weekend service operating on 40-minute frequency
#90 Hampton: Weekday schedule adjustments with peak weekday service operating on 30-minute frequency and evening weekday service operating on 40-minute frequency
#91 Olive: Bus stop moved near Cheesecake Factory location to better serve open stores at Chesterfield Mall
#94 Page: Weekday schedule adjustments with peak weekday service operating on 30-minute frequency, and evening weekday service operating on 40-minute frequency
#95 Kingshighway: Weekday schedule adjustments with daytime service operating on 30-minute frequency
#98 Ballas-N. Hanley: Weekday schedule adjustments with daytime service operating on 60-minute frequency
#100 Hazelwood: An additional morning trip added to address passenger volume, and will serve a new bus stop at Tradeport Court on select trips
If you'd like to contact Metro Transit Information for assistance or if you have any questions: You can text this number 314-207-9786 or call by phone at 314-231-2345 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
There are no changes to MetroBus routes in Illinois or to MetroLink train schedules.