An analysis of California transit employees found a high rate of burnout among operators who face unpredictable work schedules, high housing costs, and occasional violence.
A new report from UCLA's Institute for Transportation Studies highlights the causes of the persistent labor shortage in public transit at agencies across California.
As Melanie Curry explains in Streetsblog California, the report finds that while better pay is an important factor for attracting and retaining transit workers, other obstacles include “a culture of exhaustion, burnout, and physical injuries” perpetuated by “understaffing, unpredictable and complicated scheduling practices, overtime requirements, long commutes, and too-short, sometimes rare breaks.”
The report notes that part of the problem stems from “the divide between operations vs capital funding,” which makes it easier for agencies to access capital funding — for building new lines or buying equipment — than operational funding, which supports worker wages and maintenance costs.
The report’s authors suggest changes such as streamlining hiring practices, reducing split shifts, providing bathrooms and bathroom breaks for workers, and limiting fare enforcement duties for operators.
FULL STORY: To Recruit Transit Workers, More Than Higher Pay Is Needed
Detroit Transit Agency Requests $20M Budget Increase
The Detroit Department of Transportation wants to boost ridership by hiring more drivers, buying new buses, and enhancing station infrastructure.
Philadelphia Tests Bulletproof Enclosures for Bus Drivers in Wake of Fatal Shooting
The city is one of several aiming to improve driver safety.
FTA Directive Addresses Violence Against Transit Workers
Verbal and physical assaults against transit operators have grown alarmingly in the last decade.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.
California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.
HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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