The region’s public transit system will resume nearly all weekday afternoon services on bus Routes 1 and 33 beginning on Monday, October 24. COAST has run reduced afternoon services on these routes since late-May because of a shortage of bus operators.
“At this point we have added enough bus operators to be able to add a new driver shift and resume these runs, starting next Monday,” said Rad Nichols, COAST Executive Director. “Unexpected departures of staff can of course affect these plans,” he added.
Specific bus runs that are resuming, by Route, are as follows:
Route 1 – 2:30pm NB, 2:55pm SB, 4:30pm NB, 4:55pm SB, 6:30pm NB, and 6:55pm SB
Route 33 – 1:30pm OB, 1:59pm IB, 3:30pm OB, 3:59 IB, 5:30pm OB, 5:59pn IB, 7:30pm OB, and 7:44pm IB. The 4:30pm OB and 4:59 IB runs will be suspended for now.
An adjustment will also be made to the Route 34 schedule because of the resumed services on Routes 1 and 33. The 7:57pm Route 34 OB run will resume once again.
COAST, like many public transit systems across the country, has struggled to hire enough staff to maintain their full bus schedules.
When the COAST board of directors approved the FY23 operating budget, increases in operator pay and other potential enhancements to retain current and attract new staff were considered. “One of our primary goals was to address the issues we are having with attracting new bus operators to our staff,” stated Michael Williams, Director of Operations. Williams continued, “in mid-November we will able to announce exciting improvements in both pay and the costs of benefits that will take effect in January 2023.”
For information on COAST career opportunities, please visit www.coastbus.org/careers. COAST currently has up to five (5) full time CDL operator openings and four (4) part time opportunities for CDL operators.
The Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) has provided public transit service to the Seacoast New Hampshire region since 1982. COAST is a public, non-profit transit system that relies primarily on federal and local government support to operate. COAST is governed by a board of directors representing the communities served, two regional planning commissions, and many local and state agencies.
Original source can be found here.
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