With many bus drivers across the country deciding not to go back to work, a shortage of both school bus drivers and transit bus drivers has landed in Westchester County. Liberty Lines Transit, who operates the Westchester County Bee Line buses, issued the following statement on Sept. 22.
“Over the past 18 months transit systems throughout the country have faced unprecedented challenges. Liberty Lines, like all other transit operators, is facing a shortage of bus drivers due to the pandemic. We are taking this shortage seriously and are actively recruiting new Bee-Line bus drivers daily, currently running three classes to train new drivers.
“We recognize the impact this is having on our ridership and are constantly adjusting drivers’ schedules to minimize disruptions. The proactive management of the operation has resulted in less than three percent of trips that have been impacted.
“Currently, the impact of the shortage is resulting in some passengers needing to wait extra time for a bus. We are working hard to limit the amount of wait time between buses and are minimizing it as much as possible. We are trying not to impact routes where we have a high volume of passengers and, for the most part, we have been successful.
“The primary goal of Liberty Lines is to provide the best service possible to our riders. The Bee-Line Bus System is safe and reliable. We apologize for this inconvenience. We are working to remedy the issues as soon as possible.”
