WATERLOO REGION - Grand River Transit is recruiting bus drivers with customer service backgrounds in an effort to improve the transit experience.

No longer is having a bus licence the No. 1 priority.

"The new practice is looking for people with a customer service background - people that have a strong inclination toward public service," said Eric Gillespie, director of transit operations.

According to Grand River Transit statistics, rude drivers were complained about 189 times last year.

Rudeness was the fifth most common complaint behind accidents and incidents, being left standing at a stop, schedule adherence and driving habits.

Training is underway now for the first class of driver recruits chosen for their service experience.

"I think it's a very good idea," said Coun. Jane Mitchell, who regularly uses transit.

The move was prompted by issues between transit users and drivers and a smaller pool of applicants for bus-driving jobs, Gillespie said.

"We've had some people who have had challenges with customer service and we have dealt with those cases through retraining, in some cases discipline, up to and including termination," Gillespie said. "It is quite a demanding environment."

Gillespie said drivers need to be able to deal with traffic, a schedule and diverse groups of riders.

Those riders made close to 3,100 calls classified as complaints last year - about 17 complaints for every 100,000 riders. The ratio has stayed about the same since 2010 as ridership grew to more than 21 million in 2012.

Gillespie said the feedback helps drive improved service. "It's not always things we want to hear," he said. "At times we're disappointed, at times we're embarrassed."

Mitchell said she hopes the left-standing-at-stop complaints will improve, but full buses are a good sign the system is well-used.

"We're victims of our own success," she said.

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Along with their complaints, transit users paid Grand River Transit 160 compliments last year, the most in five years and triple that of 2008.

"We really appreciate when people take the time to give feedback both ways," Gillespie said.