Public comment at the Mobile City Council meeting on June 17 focused on safety and job-security concerns tied to WAVE public transit as the city's contract with Transdev approaches expiration.

The issue matters to thousands of riders and transit employees who depend on WAVE for daily travel, councilmembers said, as they pressed the administration for staffing counts, job protections and details about service changes during a proposed 90-day contract extension.

Robert Clopton, who identified himself as representing the NAACP, urged the council to consider how route cuts and service changes would affect “those that rely on public transportation as a lifeline for their daily transportation needs.” Clopton said riders depend on the system for “employment, medical visits, or grocery shopping” and warned that proposed route cuts could be disruptive. He said, “It was said that it would take 2 hours getting West Mobile to Government Plaza.”

Clopton also described anxiety among WAVE employees about the operator contract ending. “The impending expiration of the Transdev contract on June 30 or after the extension cast a significant shadow of uncertainty on the job security of the wave transportation employees,” he said, and urged stronger safety measures for drivers after instances of assault. He said one employee was terminated after an incident in which she acted while fearing for her life.

Vice President Gregory pressed administration staff for basic workforce information, asking explicitly for “how many employees there are and exactly what their job, specifications and titles are” and whether the current contract includes protections such as buyouts for employees who lose their jobs if operations change.

Council discussion indicated members view a short extension as a means to buy time to address the concerns: one councilmember said the 90-day extension is “a chance to look at all the problems” and recommended the administration provide timely information to employees about next steps during that period. The transcript records requests that the administration provide employee counts, job descriptions and any contract provisions that would affect employee protections.

What happened next: the transcript records public comment and council discussion but does not record a new motion or vote on the Transdev contract during this meeting. The remarks make clear the council and administration intend to use the extension period to gather data and pursue solutions, but no formal, final action on service changes or layoffs is recorded in the meeting minutes.

Community context: Council members framed the issue as both a riders’ access problem and an employee-safety/job-security problem. The council asked staff to convene follow-up briefings and provide written information to members and employees; the transcript records an acknowledgement that the administration planned to collect and share the requested workforce information.