TCAT aims to solve shortages and increase service

 

During 2019, TCAT saw 4 million riders use its service across the county. It was a peak that led TCAT to look into moving into a larger facility and aim to be fully staffed, with double-digit mechanics and 85 drivers.

Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has stressed many economies, especially the transportation sector.

Last August, Tompkins Weekly sat down with transportation sector officials to assess how different organizations have fared since the pandemic began. At the time, TCAT General Manager Scot Vanderpool said that major driver shortages were going to impact service routes.

On Jan. 22, the TCAT spring service begins as Cornell University students return to campus. Vanderpool said those driver shortages he talked about in August are still prevalent in 2023.

“We’re not in great shape right now,” he said. “We’re still not providing the service that we intended to provide starting in the fall of 2022, so we have reduced some of the service levels that we anticipated and really want to do.”

Vanderpool said TCAT has lost nearly 20 drivers due to attrition and retirement since 2019, and filling those vacancies has been slow. The number of mechanics TCAT has is now down to nine.

When spring service begins, three routes will be eliminated: Route 53, which connects Ellis Hollow and Varna to Cornell, as well as Routes 92 and 93, which are both on the Cornell campus.

“We feel really bad about it. A lot of it stems from the pandemic; since early 2020 we’ve been on a downward spiral like everyone else,” Vanderpool said. “We’ve faced the same challenges and obstacles that everyone else is facing regarding the recruiting process, attrition, people retiring – it’s been really hard for us to keep up with everything.”

In August, Vanderpool told Tompkins Weekly that the goal was to have driver, mechanic and service levels closer to normal by now. He admitted that those numbers aren’t where he wants them to be, but he did offer some solutions that TCAT is working on.

Vanderpool said that TCAT and the United Auto Workers Local 2300 union, which represents TCAT’s workforce, are close to signing a new contract.

Vanderpool said that although he couldn’t get into the details of the negotiations, he believes that the contract will be a move in the right direction for both the union and TCAT.

“We’re trying to finish up negotiations right now, but I think we’re very close to getting to a place where both the labor union and TCAT can agree. I feel comfortable about that,” he said. “We want to do everything we can to help our drivers. It’s not just about wages, it’s about work-life balance too, so we’re looking at changes to the schedule that might help.”

TCAT has hired a full-time recruiter to help fill driver and mechanic positions, as well as bringing in a temporary recruitment agency. TCAT is also contracting out mechanic services to Syracuse to make sure it doesn’t fall too far behind on bus maintenance.

“Mechanics are hard to find. We have nine right now, and we should probably have 12,” Vanderpool said. “We’re running behind on maintenance of the buses. We would never put anything on the road that isn’t safe, so we’ve had to reduce our service levels so we can keep our safety protocols in place and have enough drivers to drive the buses.”

Vanderpool also said TCAT is focused on giving its drivers more of a support network. In order to drive a bus, a driver must obtain a CDL license, which requires completing a class that could take eight to nine weeks.

Last week, TCAT hired another person to help drivers get through the course and become certified. 

“It’s a real commitment to provide that support and education to get them on the road and be able to drive a bus, learn all the routes as well,” Vanderpool said. “In the past we had one trainer and brought around five or six drivers through the program every three months. With an additional trainer, [that number] could be eight to 12 drivers, with classes happening every month. We’re going to be able to bring more drivers on and get some of our service back.”

Vanderpool said that currently, drivers are sometimes working six days a week and coming in on days off to make sure that TCAT’s essential routes are covered. 

“The drivers have been incredible,” he said. “In order to meet the service levels we have right now, our drivers are working six days a week, and that’s taking time away from their families, and that’s a work-life balance issue where a lot of drivers haven’t been able to deal with that well.”

Drivers currently start at $22 an hour, according to Vanderpool.

Vanderpool was clear that he does not want TCAT to be in the position where it has to mandate drivers to come in on their days off. To avoid that, he said there are nine or 10 employees who work in the administrative building who have CDL licenses and can drive the routes when they need to.

Still, sometimes employees are mandated to come in on their days off to drive routes, based on seniority. It’s something Vanderpool hopes is addressed when TCAT and the labor union have a new contract.

Vanderpool said that 70% of the riders who use TCAT are tied to Cornell, so the last month has been slow, as it usually is. 

Even during lean times, Vanderpool said he hears from the community how important the service is. It also makes him want to work that much harder to make sure that the TCAT of 2023 looks more like the TCAT of 2019.

“From everything I’ve heard, I’m really impressed by our community. Our community loves TCAT, and we’ve really put them through the grinder here,” he said. “We’ve reduced service, and we didn’t have a choice, but we feel really bad about that. We don’t want to reduce service. Our commitment is to provide services to folks who might not have other options for transportation,” Vanderpool said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better community and a group of folks within that community that support TCAT. We’re going to do everything we can to get back to where we need to go.”