Union president says pandemic accelerated loss of transit workers.

Dozens of Chatham Area Transit passengers recently milled about the Joe Murray Rivers Jr. Intermodal Transit Center in Savannah. Some waited for a bus to arrive, others stepped off a bus to start their day downtown. While they were headed to various parts of the county, many shared similar frustrations with service.

“I’ve waited on (Route) 25 for over an hour and a half and then it never showed up,” said passenger Lindsey Jones.

“They don’t post (the times) on Google anymore, so I had to spend $20 on a Lyft now.”

Route 25 is one of nine recently modified by Chatham Area Transit as the agency works through an operator shortage. Jones’ frustration was echoed by fellow passenger Michelle Grant, who shared a bench as they waited for the bus.

“Some can’t even afford (a $20 Lyft ride). I can’t afford that, not every day,” Grant said.

Several o ther riders, who declined to give their names, brought up similar issues.

CAT passengers aren’t alone when it comes to dealing with service disruptions. According to a report conducted by the American Public Transportation Association, which surveyed nearly 120 transit agencies, more than 90% reported difficulties hiring new employees, with bus operators being the most difficult positions to fill.

Catisdown more than 40 drivers between its fixed route and paratransit operations, according to Courtney Johnson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1324.

“I think people are just looking for different avenues to make income,” said Johnson, who has been with CAT for 17 years. “Some people are opening up their own businesses or finding other jobs that may pay more because not everybody is at the top rate of pay, especially in the bus operator section.”

Nearly 70% of the agencies surveyed by APTA reported having difficulties retaining employees and reported that they have had to either cut service or delay service increases because of worker shortages.

Johnson said the shortage has been building for some time, but the pandemic added fuel to the fire.

“We’re not losing 10 or 15 people at a time, but maybe every month or maybe every other month you have a few people who fall off, whether it’s from termination, resignation or retirement,” she said.

Chatham Area Transit CEO and Executive Director Faye Dimassimo said the shortage is still somewhat related to COVID-19, but different than it was in the early days of the pandemic.

“COVID was not just with us for a few months, COVID was with us for two-plus years and in that period of time we’ve seen a number of industries where the labor supply has changed, people’s interests have changed, people have made life changes,” she said.

“So building back from that is a little bit of a different market now.”

SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS Chatham Area Transit CEO Faye Dimassimo said the pandemic lasting as long as it did has contributed to a considerable change in the hiring market for the industry.