Bi-State Development outlines hiring push, maintenance shortfalls and service changes as ridership rises
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Summary
Bi-State officials told the commission they are increasing part-time recruitment to shore up service, reported losses of about 10 bus operators per month, flagged a 54-mechanic shortfall in maintenance, and described ongoing service-change and ridership gains.
Bi-State Development operations staff told the commission they are working to stabilize service as ridership grows and staffing gaps persist.
Ron Forrest, chief operating officer, said Metro bus currently shows about 640 of 650 budgeted operators on the roster, with 16 of those part-time and roughly 618 active in the field; he noted that long-term leaves reduce the number of available operators. Forrest said Bi-State now loses about 10 bus operators per month to retirement and attrition and has shifted recruiting to part-time hires to increase head count within the approved budget.
Forrest also described maintenance staffing shortages—"we're down 54 mechanics"—and said the agency is negotiating with the union and pursuing apprenticeships to recruit younger candidates through technical schools, pending Department of Labor approval for an apprenticeship program.
On service performance, Forrest said the system completes about 98% of scheduled service on average, but that historically the remaining roughly 2% of missed trips equates to about 30 partially or fully missed runs per day (22 fully missed), which has a tangible impact on riders. He reported systemwide ridership is up more than 6% year-over-year, Colorado-area ridership up roughly 33%, and Via micro-transit trips up more than 19%. Call-A-Ride trips have more than doubled to roughly 40,000 trips per month, with trip denials remaining at zero.
Forrest said Bi-State aims to double its part-time workforce before a June 2026 service change and reiterated that any future construction or larger service increases depend on funding and equipment availability. He also said Bi-State is preparing a fare-differential analysis and will provide a written breakdown of fares across service modes at the next meeting.
The commission asked for more exit-interview data and a summary of why operators leave; Forrest acknowledged a gap in data collection and said Bi-State is working to institute better exit-survey processes ahead of the June service change.