Wanted: transit operators. Lack of workers leading to cancellations

As many Bay Area transit agencies deal with financial concerns, there is another issue: a dearth of drivers.

The lack of workers is one the reasons why there are so many cancelled trips on Bay Area transit. Due to labor market disruptions and the Bay Area’s continuing housing affordability problems, many agencies are having a hard time hiring bus drivers, train operators and other transit workers.

The transit labor market issue has been addressed in the media in recent months by KPIX,  KGO-TV, Governing, the San Francisco Examiner  and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Agencies are collaborating and investing in improving the workforce pipeline to ensure transit reliability is high. Transit agencies have been taking their message to Twitter and web pages:  AC Transit, SamTrans, BART, and Muni.

"Jump-start your career in transportation — become a Muni Operator," reads a post on the agency's web site. "Whether you're driving Muni's fleet of buses, trains, historic streetcars or world-famous cable cars, as a Muni operator you're playing an important role in San Francisco. Interested in a job with excellent benefits, great compensation and a sense of civic pride? "

And here is part of BART's pitch for railroad controllers: "Each day on the job for Rail Operations Controllers is a high-stakes performance," a BART press release reads.  "Their stage? The Operations Control Center, a state-of-the-art nerve center where they oversee and manage the system’s critical infrastructure and trains as they zip around the Bay Area."