Pierce Transit reduces bus service due to operator shortages

Pierce Transit bus in Tacoma (source: Shane Ramkissoon on Flickr)

Beginning Sunday, November 7th, Pierce Transit will reduce service on some routes, including some PT-operated ST Express routes, due to persistent shortage of bus operators. The hope is that with service reduced to match the level of service that current operators can reliably provide, trip cancellations will be much rarer, and you can be more reasonably sure that scheduled bus service will be delivered. Here are the changes by route:

Route 1

Frequency will be reduced from every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 20-30 minutes on Saturdays to every 30 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays.

Route 2

Weekday headways similarly will go from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes.

Route 11

Weekday headways will go from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes, with a few half-hourly trips in the AM and PM for SAMi students.

Route 16

Frequencies will go from half-hourly to hourly on weekdays.

Route 400

Trip times will be adjusted to align with deleted trips on Sound Transit Express route 580.

Route 500

Service will go back to hourly on weekdays and Saturdays, down from the current half-hourly service on those days.

ST 566

Reverse-peak service will be eliminated, and some peak-direction service will be reduced as well. Reduced route 566 will be like other peak-direction commuter service, except with a few more later morning and a few more early afternoon trips that is usual for this kind of service.

ST 577

Weekday peak service headways will go from 8-15 minutes to 10-15 minutes.

ST 580

Service along SR 512 to Lakewood is suspended, and service will be reduced. PT route 400 will fill in some missing service, so that all Sounder trips will connect to either a route 400 or route 580 bus.

ST 590

Service will be reduced to operate every 10-15 minutes, down from mostly every 10 with periods of 5 minute headways currently.

ST 592

Service will be reduced to around every 30 minutes, compared to today's service with 30 minute headways and 15 minute headways in the busiest times. The first and last trips have also changed a bit.

ST 594

No reductions, but adjustments to trip times.

Looking ahead

Sound Transit has big plans for 2022, with the centerpiece arguably being all-day, all-week frequent service from both Tacoma and Federal Way to Seattle (all of which will be operated by Pierce Transit). But staffing shortages threaten those improvements, since they can't really add more service if they don't have enough drivers for the service they're supposed to be providing today. Finally, it goes without saying that if you can drive and are looking for a job, take a look at Pierce Transit.