Latest news with #RochesterPublicTransit
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Some Rochester bus services lapsing amid driver shortage
May 21—ROCHESTER — A shortage of bus drivers has led to lapses in Rochester Public Transit, and riders are being encouraged to watch for potential schedule changes daily. "We totally recognize this is a concern, and we fully understand this affects the trust in our system, but it is just a momentary lapse in time while we fill positions," Rochester Director of Transit and Parking Ia Xiong said of missed stops and schedule changes seen in recent weeks. The driver shortage has led Transdev, the company contracted for daily Rochester Public Transportation operations, to pull buses off certain routes at times, extending periods between stops. Transdev, an international company that touts itself as the largest private operator of public transportation in the United States, didn't return a request for comment, but Xiong said city staff have been working closely to monitor the situation and push for solutions amid driver shortages. "We try to pick routes with the least ridership," Xiong said, noting backup drivers or supervisors are sought to put the buses on the road before a schedule change is made. Local 1005 of the Amalgamated Transit Worker Union representative Adam Buzbee said the lack of drivers has resulted in 20 or more buses being sidelined on three different days, largely reducing service for southeast and southwest routes. Xiong said the missed service is unfortunate, but some of the southern Rochester areas with lapsed service have access to Rochester Public Transit's trial RTP Go service, which is providing on-demand transit service at the same cost of a bus ride. While that provides limited support, she said efforts are being made to increase RPT staffing. "They're streamlining the hiring and training process as quickly as they can," she said, adding that the company is holding job fairs to increase recruitment. "They brought in trainers from the Twin Cities to help over the weekends to accelerate the process." The approach will take time, however. "These drivers need (commercial driver's licenses), so they need to undergo training and get testing and that takes time before they can be put on the route," she said. Buzbee said Transdev has access to drivers that could keep more buses on the road, but local management changes have reduced their willingness to pick up overtime. "This is due to drivers not wanting to work overtime in a toxic environment and micromanaging," he recently told the Rochester City Council. Council members and Mayor Kim Norton have reported a mix of complaints about the transit service from riders, with several of the elected officials reporting routine calls from union representatives. "I have heard other concerns about reliability and management-driver relations," Council President Randy Schubring said. "From my perspective, I want to make sure that we are communicating directly and firmly with our contractor our expectations for reliability as well as our city values of customer service, rider-driver respect and safety." Adri Gomez, a union member, pointed to driver concerns during Monday's council meeting, stating another driver quit last week due to concerns about treatment by managers after an incident involving his bus reportedly being struck by a private vehicle. "We have to get back to working together to get the routes covered," she told the council. Buzbee, who said he was fired as an RPT driver in March, said the union has filed grievances and an unfair labor practices claim, but Xiong said those issues are between the employees and the private company. Xiong said some system changes are being considered to provide more reliability in the system as the driver shortages are addressed, but changes will take time to implement. "We want to make our system reliable, but in the meantime, there will continue to be some lapse in this as they continue to fill in for their driver shortages," she said. Until then, she said city staff is doing its best to keep riders informed when changes occur. "What we are recommending is riders check the Transit app," she said of the smartphone application introduced locally last year. "That's the most up-to-date and reliable." The app, along with daily route updates, are available online at .
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rochester street maintenance project set to begin
Apr. 23—ROCHESTER — The annual resurfacing of Rochester city streets will begin next week. The city's street maintenance team will begin the 2025 mill and overlay project in various locations throughout the city on April 28. Maps of work locations and information about the project are available on the city website at . This year's project is happening in three phases: * April 28 through June 9: Work will occur in the following general neighborhood areas: Boulder Ridge (northwest), Baihly Hills (southwest), Marion Road (southeast), East Slatterly Park (southeast) and the East Side Pioneers (southeast/northeast). * June 9 through July 7: Work will occur in the following general neighborhood areas: South Elton Hills (northwest), 14 Street Northeast and 40 Avenue Southeast. * July 7 through Aug. 11: Work will occur in the following general neighborhood areas: North Elton Hills (northwest) and will be coordinated with the John Adams Safe Routes to School project. Dates may vary depending on weather and work progression. Yellow "NO PARKING THIS SIDE" signs will be posted on affected streets starting April 24. All parking is prohibited in the posted work zone Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All violators will be ticketed and towed. Unless the posted signs indicate otherwise, parking restrictions in most of these areas are for daytime maintenance activities only; parking is allowed on weekends and after the signed hours in these posted areas. Each milled street will be overlaid with an approximate two-inch layer of new bituminous asphalt. After the milling process and prior to overlaying, bumps will be at each end of the milled areas, along with exposed/raised manhole castings and gate valve risers. Residents, bicyclists and pedestrians are all encouraged to find alternate routes. If you must use the streets under construction, travel cautiously and slowly through these areas and expect uneven pavement, bumps and rough surfaces. After the overlay process has been completed, the no-parking signs may remain in certain areas until further manhole adjustments are completed. Residents generally will have access to their driveways, although they may not have access during the day of paving for a few hours. Rochester Public Transit riders are encouraged to use the city's transit app to sign up for alerts related to their routes. The RPT website ( ) also has up-to-date detour information.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
RPT service changes, relocation of Transit Center to Central Park effective April 6
Mar. 27—ROCHESTER — The Rochester Public Transit (RPT) service changes go into effect on April 6, 2025. These changes include: * The temporary relocation of the Downtown Transit Center to Central Park * The temporary relocation of stops on 2nd Street between 11th Avenue SW and 6th Avenue SW * Minor adjustments to route timetables considering construction detours * Updates to Route 412 service path * RPT GO, the City's on-demand microtransit pilot program, will expand to include Central Park as a second downtown hub Updated routes and schedules can be viewed on the RPT website, . Starting April 6, the Transit app will be updated with the new schedules. New printed schedules will also be available beginning March 31. The service changes being implemented on April 6 are, in part, the result of construction in the downtown area. The changes to stops located in the downtown area are expected to be in place through summer 2026. RPT anticipates future detours along many routes throughout the construction period. Please continue to monitor the Transit app and for updated route and stop information.
