Short bus drivers, Kitsap Transit suspends a handful of routes until further notice

Four bus routes that Kitsap Transit operates will be suspended until further notice beginning later this month, the agency announced Wednesday, citing an “ongoing bus operator shortage.”

The suspensions are set to go into effect Nov. 29 on the 184-Harper Shuttle route, the 222-Gateway Express route, the 229-Trenton Commuter route and the 338-Gateway/Bainbridge Express route. Alternative route information is available at KitsapTransit.com.

“Essentially, we are in the same situation that everyone else is,” Kitsap Transit Executive Director John Clauson said of the agency's staffing issues. “We’re trying to recruit new operators.”

Clauson pointed to a “fair number” of employees who were close to or at retirement age who decided to retire during the pandemic and noted that the agency has been in an “almost constant” recruiting effort dating back to before the pandemic.

“It’s just indicative of what everyone is dealing with right now, trying to recruit operators,” he said. “School districts are having the same problem. It’s throughout the nation, not just here in Washington.”

More: Kitsap school districts look to paid training and bonuses to address bus driver shortages

Clauson estimated that the agency currently has about 100 operators, which would put it about 30 drivers short of what it’d need today. On top of that, the agency is also aiming to bring back the Sunday bus service that was dropped during the Great Recession, a prospect that would require even more operators.

“We’re in a growth mode, but it’s all based on how quickly we can hire folks,” Clauson said, estimating that Sunday service would be brought back incrementally over two years based on how many operators the agency can hire.

More: Kitsap Transit to add back Sunday bus service over the next two years

Clauson also noted that the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employers with more than 100 workers may also affect staffing levels. At the moment, about 84% of Kitsap Transit’s bus operators are vaccinated, “…but that still leaves a percentage of folks that have not been vaccinated,” he said.

“That may have an impact as well, we don’t know yet.”

Nathan Pilling is a reporter covering Bainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Washington State Ferries for the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-5242, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @KSNatePilling.

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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Short bus drivers, Kitsap Transit suspends a handful of routes