Two Sioux Area Metro routes soon back to reduced service as driver shortage worsens

Sioux Area Metro's downtown terminal on Jan. 3, 2022.
Sioux Area Metro's downtown terminal on Jan. 3, 2022.

Driver shortages at Sioux Area Metro continue to cause problems for the city's bus system, with two routes that returned to normal service earlier this month soon returning to hourly service.

Sioux Area Metro is currently operating with 33 drivers, said Robert Speeks, the general manager of Sioux Area Metro at the Jan. 24 meeting of the Public Transit Advisory Board — close to the number that originally led the system to reduce services in August of 2021, and less than the 38 drivers he said are likely needed for full service.

More: Two Sioux Area Metro routes return to regular service amid ongoing bus driver shortage

Speeks said they had "gone a few steps back" since the Nov. 22, 2021 meeting, where he'd said they had 35-36 drivers.

"We continue to struggle and battle with that," Speeks said, pointing to medical leave and COVID-19's spiking case numbers in the area as two causes.

Sioux Area Metro's downtown terminal on Jan. 3, 2022.
Sioux Area Metro's downtown terminal on Jan. 3, 2022.

Senior Planner Sam Trebilcock said that two of the city's main bus routes — Route 3 and Route 10, which returned to normal, half-hour service earlier this month — would be returning to hourly service as of Jan. 31 as a result.

Speeks added that hiring during the bad weather that often plagues the city during the winter has always been challenging, and said that new hires usually start picking up near the end of March.

Asked about the wages for new drivers, Speeks said it was a "complicated system," although he did say that drivers were paid at 90% of their wage during the Sioux Area Metro's 30-45 day training period and that the maximum wage was $22.50.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Area Metro routes soon to reduce service due to driver shortage