Dive Brief:
- Many transit agencies struggle to recruit and retain frontline workers, according to a recently released Urban Institute report. Researchers warn that the labor shortage may persist or worsen without new approaches to wages, working hours and stringent qualification requirements.
- The transit workforce has increased more slowly than overall employment in most large regions, the report found, undermining agencies’ ability to serve people who rely on public transportation.
- “Under current trends, the cost of service will go up over time,” UI Principal Research Associate Yonah Freemark told Smart Cities Dive. “That's going to result in less service provided by transit agencies unless they find new revenue.”
Dive Insight:
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many frontline transit workers left their jobs due to concerns about wages, safety, inflexible schedules and lack of professional growth, a 2022 American Public Transportation Association report found.
Some 3,000 public transit agencies and providers employ over 160,000 bus, subway and streetcar operators and more than 55,000 maintenance personnel to serve 20 million daily rides, according to 2023 UI data. “Transit agencies need to ensure that their workforce is growing and remains big enough to handle the demand for people to use transit,” Freemark said.
Pay scales vary widely among transit systems. Median wages for the transit labor force in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. are between $25 to $30 per hour, while Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia are in the $20 to $25 per hour range, according to UI data. Miami’s median wage for transit workers is under $20 per hour.
“Transit is just not as appealing as other types of jobs because of the 24/7 shift nature of the service,” Freemark said. The UI report also pointed to “more stringent qualification requirements than other employers — including drug testing, background checks, and education minimums.” Additionally, transit workers are reaching retirement age sooner than workers in most other industries.
The UI report recommends that employers take a hard look at their qualification requirements. “Give people the opportunity to learn on the job,” Freemark said. It also recommends offering child care to workers with nontraditional schedules, encouraging more diverse candidates to apply and replacing paperwork with automated technologies.
Transit authorities shouldn’t look at the UI report as criticism of their hiring practices, Freemark said. “This is an opportunity for transit agencies to think about how to improve their situation and hopefully find some remedies that can assist them on a day-to-day basis.”
