Halifax Transit bus makes a stop on Spring Garden Road. (Photo: Steve MacArthur)
More bus trips are getting chopped as the city grapples with Halifax Transit staffing shortages.
The municipality announced on Friday for the third time this month changes are being issued to routes to help address the challenges.
Starting on Tuesday, more than 70 bus trips will now be cancelled until further notice. You can see a full list here.
The president of the union representing drivers told our newsroom this week that workers are quitting due to low wages, long work hours, and safety concerns.
Shane O’Leary, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 508, says staff have been stretched thin with many working between 50 to 70 hours per week.
“They’re coming in and they’re starting at the lowest wage and they’re working the most hours, the worst hours. Even senior operators are being forced to work on their days off and after their shifts are done. There is no quality of life anymore,” O’Leary says.”People are literally just walking up to the window and saying that’s it ‘I quit. I’m done’.”
O’Leary says wages, which start at around $21 an hour, need to be improved along with work conditions.
He reminds Haligonians it’s not easy to be a bus driver.
“We get coffee thrown at us, we get assaulted, and abused, and yelled at for just doing our job,” O’Leary says. “Nobody should have to work like that. We need the support from the police, from the council, from our employer to protect us.”
He said cancelled trips won’t solve those deeper issues as drivers grapple with burnout.
The city explains the reduction in service will help provide more certainty to passengers and allow them to plan ahead.
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