The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is experiencing a of bus drivers, affecting those who rely on the transit system to get to school, work or around town.
Issues with staffing have left many riders without their regularly scheduled buses, . This issue has been particularly severe for buses used by the Providence Public School District; it is unclear exactly how many students have been affected by the issue, but around 4,500 students in a given year generally request a bus pass.
Demi Egunjobi, an 11th grader at Classical High School, said that a majority of her friends take the RIPTA to commute to school. In the wake of the delays caused by the driver shortage, Egunjobi has begun to walk to school.
鈥淚t takes so long to wait, and when we do wait 鈥� it鈥檚 so crowded,鈥� she said. Walking home takes an hour to an hour and a half for Egunjobi, but even this long commute is similar to how long a bus ride would take when factoring in the unusual wait times.
On Thursday morning, six school bus routes were canceled, and the previous day, five were canceled, the Providence Journal .
Barbara Polichetti, director of public affairs for RIPTA, wrote in an email to The Herald that RIPTA met with the division leaders of the Amalgamated Transit Union, the union that represents Rhode Island bus drivers, 鈥渢o discuss how to resolve recent bus service disruption for鈥� Providence school students.
In the meeting, the union recommended that RIPTA 鈥渃all upon former bus operators who are current employees in different roles to help transport school鈥� students, but RIPTA has thus far not been able to recruit any former bus operators.
RIPTA offered a short-term solution to the driver shortage for students, allowing them to take any bus, even if it does not go to their school, and then transfer at Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence.
Egunjobi said that the delays have added stress to students鈥� lives. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e waiting for the bus at 7:10 and it doesn鈥檛 come, 鈥� I鈥檓 automatically going to be late,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e late too many times, you get detention.鈥澛�
Egunjobi has begun riding to school with her parents, but she takes the RIPTA on the way home, and she arrives home much later than usual, she said.
She added that many students, particularly younger students, may be unfamiliar with the RIPTA system, and they may feel overwhelmed by the long or canceled bus routes. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine being a freshman right now. I would actually be panicking,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much pressure on top of starting high school.鈥�
Kevin Hoffman, a resident of Portsmouth, said that the constant delays caused by the driver shortages negatively affect his daily life.聽
鈥淚 get that there鈥檚 a shortage of drivers,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 they be transparent about it? You have an app, a website, a social media, 鈥� but they don鈥檛 tell us when there鈥檚 a delay.鈥�
On their each night, RIPTA announces disruptions and other service alerts for routes that will be affected the next day. These announcements and alerts are again in the morning.
Egunjobi said neither she nor any of her friends were aware of the RIPTA service alerts. She said students feel 鈥渂lindsided鈥� when buses do not arrive. Some students call an Uber, and others begin walking to school.
Hoffman has been stuck twice waiting for buses in the past month. 鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to take the RIPTA up to Providence from Portsmouth so my wife could have the car for the day, and I ended up being over an hour late to meet a client.鈥�
Sometimes, buses don鈥檛 arrive at all, Hoffman said. 鈥淧eople have had to spend money finding an Uber or Lyft, or spend extra gas money because of the shortage, and that just isn鈥檛 okay since it鈥檚 supposed to be public transportation.鈥�
鈥淧eople could get stranded or miss work,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a trivial thing.鈥�
Polichetti asked passengers to remain 鈥渃ourteous to 鈥� drivers鈥� and fellow passengers if buses are delayed.
