TARC riders left at the curb as driver shortages cancel buses

Driver shortages are creating significant delays in Louisville's bus system, putting a strain on operators and frustrating riders who rely on the system to get to their jobs.

The problem came to the forefront the weekend of the Kentucky Derby, when an untold number of people were left standing in the rain because their buses were delayed for hours or never showed up.

The Transit Authority of River City acknowledged that it failed to send out more than a dozen regular buses on Derby Day. Another five buses didn't go out on Oaks Day, which was the day before.

"We don't have enough drivers right now," said Barry Barker, TARC's executive director. "Unfortunately, it's not just an Oaks and Derby phenomenon, this is occurring every day."

Read more: Survivors still in agony over 1988 bus crash that horrified a nation

Barker said that up to 10 routes each day may have delays because there are about 40 driver vacancies. He said TARC tries to assign an operator to work overtime to keep buses on time before it decides to cancel a bus.

Public transit advocates and regular riders say delays have been a chronic problem for years. They say complaints are ignored because TARC serves a group that is easy for transit leaders and the larger community to ignore.

Ridership surveys released last year say a "typical" passenger is a 36-year-old African-American woman who lives below the poverty line, earning less than $25,000 annually, TARC officials said.

Joshua Poe, an urban planner who used to work at TARC, said what makes the city's bus system different than the electric company or sewer district is that those utilities are used by everyone in the community.

"There's a level of accountability in those services, but since TARC provides service to poor black women in their 20s and 30s, who are working single moms in the service sector, it's not likely to make it to the Courier Journal or talked about at work," he said.

Barker said that's a "bitter" criticism from a former employee and that transit officials are always listening to passengers' concerns and taking steps to better serve riders.

On Derby Day, there were delays on 10 different routes that serve passengers going home or to work along the Broadway, Market Street, Taylorsville Road and Jeffersonville-New Albany service lines. Three buses from the Fourth Street bus route alone did not run.

Kentucky voters guide: Here's who's running in the Louisville mayor primaries

Preservationist Martina Kunnecke, a regular TARC rider, said she ran across dozens of passengers that day waiting on the Market Street route, which stretches from western Louisville into the East End's Indian Hills neighborhood.

"People were furious about the TARC app on their phone because it kept saying arrival was imminent but the buses never came," she said.

Neighborhood Planning & Preservation, Kunnecke's advocacy group, is drafting a letter to TARC leaders that demands an explanation about why service has slowed.

The letter, a copy of which was provided to Courier Journal, includes an account from a rider who said she waited for two hours at a stop outside a Walmart. It also rips the treatment of regular TARC riders compared to how tourists or others going to the racetrack received special service.

TARC spokesman Russell Goodwin confirmed that Churchill Downs had contracted with TARC to provide shuttle service to people coming to the track from the Kentucky Exposition Center on Derby Day.

"I realize that TARC's budget is not what it should be, but the public seems to be picking up the shortfall, while tourists get preference over locals at Derby and a 'free ride'," Kunnecke said. "It's disgraceful."

Barker said a bus being removed from a route can result in TARC running behind schedule by 15 to 45 minutes. He said transit officials review driver shortages daily to avoid cutting the same route too often.

"The strain it is putting on our operators is we're getting drivers to do extra runs, and over time that's running them down as well," Barker said.

TARC has about 14.3 million passengers each year, and surveys show many are lower-income.

The 2017 survey found 70 percent of passengers said the city's bus service is very important to them. Among those riders, 84 percent said it was important in providing transportation to work, and 83 percent said it was equally crucial for ensuring the elderly and disabled can get around.

Barker said TARC is underfunded and relies too much on one-time funding sources. TARC's annual budget is $73 million — about $43 million of which is fueled by a two-tenths of a 1 percent Louisville occupational tax.

"The level of service we have out there is not sustainable nor is it even sufficient," he said.

See also: City delays release of report on LMPD's response to sex abuse scandal

But Poe said the debate around delays has more to do with TARC service being strained to the outer rims of Jefferson County than its budget constraints or lack of drivers.

In November, for instance, TARC expanded its service to Jefferson Riverport International in far southwestern Louisville using a $2.5 million state grant.

"The system was designed to get a one-seat ride from the suburbs to downtown," Poe said. "It's not designed to get people to the sprawled employment centers that we have today. I know there's talk of a comprehensive analysis to redesign the system, but until TARC decides to scrap the current system I don't think the delays are really going to be fixed."

Barker agreed that the system is stretched but in the meantime the transit agency must focus on boosting the number of drivers to keep up with retirements and other attrition, he said.

That means keeping up with about three new vacancies each month. He said that the agency is planning a recruitment blitz this summer to fill 10 positions a month.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/philb.

WANT A JOB WITH TARC?

To be a bus driver, a person must, among other qualifications, be at least 21 years old; have a high school diploma or GED; possess a valid driver's license for at least three years; pass a drug test; and have no misdemeanor convictions in the past five years.

There is an eight-week training program that pays applicants $12 an hour that can increase up to $16.56 per hour upon completion. Current top operator pay is about $24 per hour, according to TARC's website.

Barker said resumes may be submitted via fax at (502) 213-3202, e-mail at careers@ridetarc.org or mailed to their headquarter at 1000 W. Broadway. TARC officials say job seekers may apply in person at the same location.

Buses missing on Oaks Day

#18 Preston - Dixie Highway

#61 Plainview Express

#66 Mt. Washington - Shepherdsville

#71 Jeffersonville-Louisville-New Albany

#78 Downtown/Bluegrass Express

Buses missing on Kentucky Derby Day

#4 Fourth Street (3)

#6 Sixth Street

#15 Market Street (2)

#18 Preston - Dixie Highway (2)

#19 Muhammad Ali

#23 Broadway

#27 Hill Street

#40 Taylorsville Road

#71 Jeffersonville-Louisville-New Albany