Some commuters in Lincoln County will have to find another way to work or school. A shortage of bus drivers has led Lincoln County Transit to make another round of service cuts.
The agency says it’s eliminating half of the trips on a route that goes from Newport to Toledo and Siletz. The announcement comes less than a month after most bus service in Lincoln County was dropped entirely on Sundays.
It’s a challenge to find enough qualified drivers, said Molly Murphy, field supervisor for Lincoln County Transit.
“Everybody’s hiring, and being in a rural area, we’re just not seeing the applicants coming in,” she said.
Lincoln County’s unemployment rate is higher than the state as a whole, but still sharply lower than it was a year ago.
Other transit agencies, including Portland’s Tri-Met and Eugene’s LTD, have also curtailed service in recent years due to operator shortages. Some school districts have also had to adjust routes due to bus driver shortages.