Denver RTD labor shortage may lead to rail service cuts

Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) staff earlier this week informed the agency's board that a shortage of light-rail operators and bus drivers may require a temporary reduction in service.

RTD is experiencing an ongoing labor shortage and issues with recruiting and retaining its light-rail and bus operators, ultimately leading to service disruptions and unscheduled cancellations, RTD officials said in a press release.

In July, 26 scheduled light-rail trips were dropped, or did not arrive as scheduled.  In August, the number climbed to nearly 297 trips, according to data in a draft proposal document. 

On Nov. 12, RTD staff plan to recommend to the board a temporary service reduction to align service with the amount of operators now available. Specific areas where service would be cut has not yet been determined, staff said in a press release.

“Service cuts already are being made in response to operator shortages, and RTD is informing passengers at the last minute,” said Dave Jensen, assistant general manager of rail operations. “While the workforce continues to diminish, the workload hasn’t. On light rail it has increased since May, when the Southeast Rail Extension opened and required the work of 20 more operators. That fact has brought the division to a point of not being able to cover every trip it operates.”

The agency will also propose to significantly reduce mandated overtime work for its operators, the single biggest factor affecting retention of new RTD employees, staff said.

Over the past three years, RTD has opened five new rail lines and one bus rapid transit line. Over the past six years, the agency has added 20 percent more service, equating to 600,000 hours. To deliver RTD’s current and planned service, rail and bus operators have been mandated for the past four years to work six-day work weeks, meaning they must work overtime without an option to refuse.

The proposed plan would not completely alleviate the need to mandate overtime work for its employees, but it would reduce the need for the same employees to work six days every week. 

“With historically low unemployment and a labor market that is tight everywhere, many industries have been deeply affected by workforce shortages,” staff said in a press release. “RTD’s labor issues are similar to what transit agencies across the country are experiencing.”

A formal proposal document will be presented to the board at a Nov. 12 operations committee meeting.