Staffing Shortages May Affect BCRTA Service

September 8, 2021

Dear BCRTA Customers and Stakeholders,

We are excited to see the return of school this year and some elements of life return to normal as fall begins.  Despite the rise of the Delta variant and surges in COVID-19 cases, we remain optimistic about the future.  We’ve been pleased to see our riders returning to their normal travel patterns and getting back into a routine.  Our BGo service is even seeing demand above pre-Covid levels!

Unfortunately, like many of our peers and other businesses, we are struggling as an agency to recruit employees lost during the pandemic and keep up with service demands.  We are pulling together all the resources we have and deploying them to the best of our abilities as quickly as possible, but it is simply not enough.  I would like to apologize to many of you who have already experienced this through late or missed trips on any one of our services.  This is not the level of service we want or expect to provide to our valued riders.

Today I am asking for your patience and understanding as we work through this monumental and nationwide staffing shortage.

• Please be kind to those who serve you.  Remember: they keep coming back. 
• Please schedule your BGo and BCare trips well in advance of your appointment, class, or shift start time in case service is running late. 
• Please continue to let us know when we have not met your expectations so that we can continue to identify areas for improvement and prioritize the most important needs.

To help alleviate staffing shortages, BCRTA is proposing to temporarily suspend R2, R4, and BGo service to the South Dayton Hub.  BCRTA will hold a virtual public hearing to receive your comments and consider any implications of this suspension on September 21, 2021 at 6:00 PM.  Constituents may also submit their comments via web form or telephone in advance of the hearing as well. Please read the notice of public hearing for more information.

Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we navigate these new challenges.  We value our riders and look forward to addressing these challenges so we may serve you better soon.

Sincerely,