Eric Wilkinson, a Community Transit driver of 17 years, departs from Seaway Transit Center in an empty 280 bus Friday, in Everett. The route is proposed to keep its current service despite trip cuts to nine other routes in March. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Eric Wilkinson, a Community Transit driver of 17 years, departs from Seaway Transit Center in an empty 280 bus Friday, in Everett. The route is proposed to keep its current service despite trip cuts to nine other routes in March. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Driver shortage prompts Community Transit’s trip cut proposal

Reducing service, by 78 trips total on 9 routes, could make for more reliable arrivals and departures in March.

Before Community Transit service grows, in line with the Sound Transit light rail reaching Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace in late 2024, it will likely shrink.

For the third consecutive semiannual service change, the Snohomish County bus and vanpool agency is proposing trip reductions for several routes. The changes would take effect in March.

By dropping a proposed 78 weekday trips, Community Transit hopes to stabilize routes and avoid the problem it has had this year with trips canceled on short notice.

“We know that the most important thing to our traveling public is a reliable schedule,” system planning manager Chris Simmons said during a Facebook Live video earlier this month. “It doesn’t do any good to publish a schedule if we can’t actually meet the schedule.”

Initially, the proposal was to cut trips on 12 routes. But recently staff removed the proposed changes for routes 270, 271 and 280 that would have terminated the service at Everett Station. Instead, those routes will continue as normal to the Seaway Transit Center near Boeing in south Everett.

Proposed cuts:

• Route 101: Mariner Park & Ride to Aurora Village (suspend seven trips out of 73)

• Route 105: Mariner Park & Ride/Hardeson Road to Bothell (suspend four trips out of 40)

• Route 115: McCollum Park Park & Ride to Aurora Village (suspend 12 trips out of 60)

• Route 116: Silver Firs to Edmonds (suspend 13 trips out of 62)

• Route 119: Ash Way Park & Ride to Mountlake Terrace (suspend 1 trip out of 33)

• Route 196: Ash Way Park & Ride to Edmonds (suspend 17 trips out of 50)

• Route 201: Smokey Point to Lynnwood (suspend 11 trips out of 62)

• Route 202: Smokey Point to Lynnwood (suspend 11 trips out of 61)

• Route 412: Silver Firs to Seattle (suspend two trips out of 12)

The specific trips that could be eliminated weren’t specified yet, because it’s likely that most of Community Transit’s route schedules will adjust by spring, Simmons said. A major reason is that because of the proposed cuts, many of the affected route schedules will adjust to ensure their connections with other routes or other transit agencies are maintained.

A shortage of drivers and mechanics is largely driving the reduction, Community Transit leaders said in interviews and meetings.

“A lot of that has to do with the vaccine mandate that CT implemented as of Jan. 1,” driver union president Kathleen Custer said. “We lost a lot of employees because of that.”

After the agency required employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine or have an exemption and accommodations by Jan. 1, 59 employees quit or were fired.

Similar to other industries and transit agencies across the country, filling those vacancies along with expected attrition, has proven challenging.

Since Jan. 1, Community Transit hired 53 drivers and six mechanics. Over that same time, 49 drivers or trainees left, as well as five mechanics.

That slow growth is despite a focus on recruiting at career and job fairs and trade schools, a $5,000 signing bonus for new drivers, a retention bonus for current drivers this year and other efforts.

“It’s been difficult to attract and retain employees within this industry,” Custer said. “It is nationwide, it is not anything we are experiencing alone.”

To meet its planned service expansion in 2024, the agency needs around 450 drivers. About 320 were employed as of this writing.

“We haven’t been able to grow as quickly as we initially hoped,” director of planning and development Roland Behee told The Daily Herald.

Meanwhile ridership has continued to recover from the cliff-dive it took during the first year of the pandemic. Last week, Community Transit had over 20,000 boardings per day, which is still lower than before the pandemic.

Commuter routes, especially into Seattle, have been slower to recover, Behee said. While employers in King County may push for a return to more in-person work, it’s coming at the same time as thousands of layoffs from major tech companies.

“Our key priority on this is that we’re really trying to account for the workforce we have right now and improve that reliability and consistency for riders,” Behee said.

Have a question? Call 425-339-3037 or email streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your first and last name and city of residence.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Everett postal workers gather for a portrait to advertise the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County letter carriers prepare for food drive this Saturday

The largest single-day food drive in the country comes at an uncertain time for federal food bank funding.

Everett
Everett considers ordinance to require more apprentice labor

It would require apprentices to work 15% of the total labor hours for construction or renovation on most city projects over $1 million.

Signs hang on the outside of the Early Learning Center on the Everett Community College campus on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett Community College to close Early Learning Center

The center provides early education to more than 70 children. The college had previously planned to close the school in 2021.

Northshore school board selects next superintendent

Justin Irish currently serves as superintendent of Anacortes School District. He’ll begin at Northshore on July 1.

Auston James / Village Theatre
“Jersey Boys” plays at Village Theatre in Everett through May 25.
A&E Calendar for May 15

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Contributed photo from Snohomish County Public Works
Snohomish County Public Works contractor crews have begun their summer 2016 paving work on 13 miles of roadway, primarily in the Monroe and Stanwood areas. This photo is an example of paving work from a previous summer. A new layer of asphalt is put down over the old.
Snohomish County plans to resurface about 76 miles of roads this summer

EVERETT – As part of its annual road maintenance and preservation program,… Continue reading

Apartment fire on Casino Road displaces three residents

Everett Fire Department says a family’s decision to shut a door during their evacuation helped prevent the fire from spreading.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.