Reports

In 2023, more than 7 billion trips were taken on America’s public transit systems, in towns, cities, and rural areas across the country. Demand for

Working families rely on public transit, whether they live and work in big cities, small towns, or rural communities. Read stories from workers across the country and see why they’re calling for more investment in transit infrastructure and jobs.

Earth Day is a time when we consider how decisions we make this year, and next, will impact the future happiness and health of the people we love, and all people on the planet. One crucial part of this is how we move ourselves and goods from place to place. Earth Day is more than a time for reflection — it is a call to action.

In the last two decades, starting wages for our nation’s bus operators have fallen seriously behind the cost of living. Along with a host of unsatisfactory working conditions, the result has been a historic, and in many cases dire, volume of vacancies for frontline transit operations jobs. This state of affairs has resulted in less-frequent, less-reliable service for riders and, in an increasing number of cases, devastating service cuts. This report presents bus operator wages as compared with Area Median Income in 30 cities across the U.S. Before it is too late, our decision makers must do everything in their power to make sure frontline transit workers are paid a living wage and that local transit agencies can sustain their critical workforce.

From New Jersey to Denver to Los Angeles, transit agencies across the US are experiencing an alarming bus operator shortage. Driving a bus was once considered a stable path to the middle class, but the profession is now having difficulty with recruitment and retention. Bus operator positions now turn over more than any other at transit agencies.