THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay has no plans to lay off bus drivers, transit manager Brad Loroff says. A recent city report had said the move to reduce transit service in the face of COVID-19 would require a “reduced staff complement,” while some drivers indicated they expected significant layoffs.
Beginning April 5, transit will operate on a modified Sunday schedule, with most routes running every 45 minutes between 6:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. While ridership has declined by more than 50 per cent overall, there are overcrowding concerns on some routes at peak times, making it difficult for riders to maintain physical distance to protect against transmission of the coronavirus.
Loroff says the schedule adjustment will free up buses and drivers, giving the city the flexibility to add extra trips on those routes during busy times.
“It is a service reduction, but it’s not really about [reducing service],” Loroff said. “It’s about properly allocating our resources so that we’ve got buses in the right place at the right time to be able to react to what’s happening in the transit system right now.”
While the city will continue running all routes, Loroff says some have seen precipitous drops in ridership.
“It makes no sense to maintain a full service schedule on a route that’s seen an 80 per cent decline in ridership,” he says.
Before approving the service reduction Monday, some city councillors had raised concerns over recent increases in driver absences, questioning whether employees are avoiding working conditions they see as unsafe. Two drivers who spoke with Tbnewswatch over the weekend said they didn’t believe the city had put adequate protections in place.
Tbnewswatch has been unable to reach local representatives of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) for comment.
Loroff maintains the increased absences are similar to those experienced across all city departments due to COVID-19.
“It’s no different than any other workplace that has a large amount of staff,” he says. “Just like everyone else, we have staff that are self-isolating and things like that.”
The adjusted transit schedule will be made available later this week. Reached on Tuesday, Loroff did not foresee any further service reductions in the near future, though he noted the rapidly changing situation makes it difficult for the city to plan with certainty.
