Despite Chatham Area Transit (CAT) having about 74% of its staff fully vaccinated, the omicron variant is still causing issues when it comes to staffing and transit routes. As of Jan. 1, 41 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported among employees.
About 85% of those 41 cases were operators of both para and fixed transit routes. Currently CAT has 10 employees out for COVID, including nine operators.
While CAT has maintained its current service schedule, fixed-route, paratransit and ferry operations have all been impacted by long delays and the organization may move to reduce services in the coming weeks if infection rates continue.
“We know that the public has had to contend with so many disruptions from the pandemic and we had hoped that we would be at a point where things were starting to improve by now,” interim CEO Valerie Ragland said in a statement released Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, things are trending the wrong way and we know our customers who depend on our services are once again experiencing hardships as a result. We ask once again for their patience and understanding as we face this ongoing struggle.”
To help counter the delays caused by the absences, operators have been working overtime and supervisors and other CAT employees with commercial driver’s licenses have stepped up to cover for their sick or quarantining colleagues. The agency is also working to fill operator vacancies through a recruitment campaign.
Another 21 staff members are currently quarantining due to exposure to the virus, CAT’s Chief Human Resources Officer Chaka White reported to members of the CAT Board of Directors during an Executive Governance Committee meeting on Tuesday.
White said many of those staff members are quarantining after their children were exposed while in school.
“So therefore, now the children have to quarantine and therefore, the parents may end up having to quarantine. So I'm seeing a lot of that, unfortunately,” she said.
“So we definitely want to address what's going on as far as you know, the spread that's going on, what we're seeing, and how we're going to manage all of these positive cases and how it's affecting operations.”
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
White said the 26% of unvaccinated staff is still a concern and CAT continues to encourage all employees, as well as customers to get vaccinated.
“Most of the COVID cases are drivers," she said, "and that’s who is providing the services, that's how the business is running. And we still have to do business with the drivers, the drivers still come into our office, they still have to do day-to-day business.”
The agency is also continuing to implement safety measures, such as reduced vehicle capacities, enhanced sanitization of its vehicles and facilities. Masks also continue to be required on vehicles until at least March 18, due to a federal mandate.
On Tuesday, Ragland said both of CAT’s facilities — the Joe Murray Rivers, Jr. Intermodal Transit Center on Oglethorpe Avenue and CAT Central on Gwinnett Street — recently underwent a deep cleaning and going forward those cleanings will happen on a quarterly basis in addition to the daily cleaning.
“I'm so thankful to the supervisors who are coming out of the offices and actually driving routes, that's been happening on a daily basis," Ragland said. "They're even working on their days off.
“Additionally, bus operators, those who are dedicated and committed to providing the service to the community, they're working overtime, they're coming in on their days off. So everybody is just trying to do everything that we can do.”
Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Reduced service possible as COVID impacts Chatham Area Transit staffing
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