Indianapolis, Indiana – IndyGo has announced that they will be streamlining 12 of their bus routes in order to compensate for a lack of drivers.
To reach its maximum staffing potential, the organization must recruit one hundred drivers.
Included in the list of routes that will be impacted are the 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 26, 28, 31, 38, 55, and 902. The number 56 will be the new route that will be implemented. The routing of Routes 12, 13, 14, and 55 will be streamlined.
The alterations, which can be seen on the website, will take effect on June 11th.
IndyGo spokesperson Carrie Black said, “There will be a total of four routes where the frequency will change, so that could be something where a bus arrives every 30 minutes. It may not arrive until every 45 minutes or maybe every 60 minutes.”
On some routes, there will be a decrease in frequency, while on others, there will be a rise. After all IndyGo positions have been filled, those routes’ schedules may revert to how they were before.
The company is willing to provide its drivers with a beginning wage of $20 per hour, as well as health benefits and free training for obtaining a commercial driver’s license.
But, attracting new hires hasn’t been easy, Black said. “IndyGo is not unique in this at all. This is a national crisis. When the pandemic hit the number of bus drivers, the workforce, decreased dramatically.”
On the 16th of May, IndyGo will hold a virtual meeting to discuss the upcoming changes.
Open houses will be held at local transit centers on the following two days, providing additional opportunities for discussion of the upcoming changes. On both days, the open houses will be held from 6 to 8 in the morning and from 3 to 5 in the afternoon.
