GoRaleigh has filled some much-needed bus driver jobs. What will this mean for riders?
GoRaleigh will soon undo service cuts it put in place in 2022 when it didn’t have enough drivers.
The city bus system will restore full service on 11 routes that have been running less frequently since September 2022. Starting next week, those routes will again operate every half hour, instead of every hour.
GoRaleigh made the cuts because it didn’t have enough drivers to ensure all its routes were run as scheduled. The agency found that it couldn’t complete 150 to 200 scheduled trips per week because it was short 30 drivers. It chose to reduce frequency on some routes rather than have some buses not show up at all.
Since then, GoRaleigh has been able to fill 22 of those jobs, enough to restore service. To help attract drivers, the agency pays for training needed to get a commercial license and has raised starting wages from just under $17 per hour in the summer of 2022 to $19.38 now.
GoRaleigh is still eight drivers shy of a full complement of 215, according to spokeswoman Andrea Epstein.
The increase in frequency may help GoRaleigh lure back some riders who found alternative ways to get around during the COVID-19 pandemic or aren’t commuting as often. Ridership is 85% to 90% of pre-pandemic levels, Epstein said, even though riding the bus has been free since the spring of 2020.
The 11 GoRaleigh routes that will run every half hour starting the week of Jan. 14 are: 3, 10, 12, 18/18S, 7L, 23L, 24L, 26, 27, 36 and 40X, the Wake Tech Express.
One of the changes made in 2022 will remain in place for now. Route 19, the Apollo Heights bus that used to run through Southeast Raleigh every 15 minutes, will continue to operate every half hour.
