MARTA hopes to restore regular bus service across metro Atlanta by this summer.
The agency reduced the frequency of most of its bus routes in December because of a staffing shortage brought on in part by the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the shortage, many buses didn’t show up, leaving passengers to wonder when the next one would arrive. So MARTA shifted 96 of its 113 routes to a Saturday schedule, saying it would make service less frequent but more predictable.
Interim CEO Collie Greenwood told the Atlanta City Council transportation committee Wednesday that MARTA is still short about 180 bus drivers. But recent recruitment efforts have yielded more than 250 applications.
Greenwood said MARTA should be able to hire enough drivers to resume a normal schedule this summer and “certainly by September.”
MARTA will host a recruitment fair for bus drivers and technicians from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at its headquarters, 2424 Piedmont Road NE. The starting pay is $17.74 per hour for operators and $23.91 per hour for technicians. The agency also is offering a $3,000 signing bonus. For more information, visit www.itsmarta.com.
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