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4/1/2021
With a focus on regional recovery, Regional Transportation District-Denver(RTD) is hiring rail and bus operators and mechanics.
Although the agency's ridership is still down 60%, as workers return to the office and vaccinations increase, more people are expected to ride public transportation again, RTD officials said in a news release.
“As the region starts to recover, [we] want to be ready,” said RTD Chief Operating Officer Michael Ford. “Prior to the pandemic, RTD suffered operator shortages on both the bus and the rail side, and we want to avoid that situation and be prepared for what we anticipate will be an influx of customers.
To maintain social distancing, two or three times as many buses and operators are needed to carry the same number of riders that previously required one vehicle and one operator, he said.
According to a study by staffing and recruiting firm LaSalle Network, 70% of the more than 350 chief executive officers, COOs, and human resources and finance leaders surveyed by the company said they plan to bring employees back to the office by fall 2021.
And in a recent pandemic-related economic impact update, the Downtown Denver Partnership reported that it is starting to note a consistent increase in work-related travel.
Impacts of the pandemic forced RTD to reduce its workforce, but after learning in early 2021 it would have access to federal funding assistance through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the agency rescinded layoffs of operators and mechanics.