Driver shortage limits Westmoreland shared-ride system; hiring event planned for July 1

Door-to-door shared rides on the Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s paratransit system will be limited because of an ongoing driver shortage, officials announced this weekend.

Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said the Go Westmoreland system needs to hire up to 15 full-time drivers to ensure the service that provides subsidized rides to elderly, disabled and low income residents can continue in its current form. The agency currently has about 30 paratransit drivers on staff.

“We have gotten to a point where we have a critical shortage of drivers for the Go Westmoreland shared-ride service. Our current drivers and staff are working very hard and doing the best that they can, but it is not possible to keep up with the demand. The residents that rely on this service are suffering with late trips, longer ride times, missed appointments, etc. Until we can recruit, hire, and train additional drivers, we are implementing some temporary measures to limit our service,” Blahovec said.

Trips to Pittsburgh for medical purposes will be limited to three days a week. Other out-of-county trips will also be scaled back and rides for shopping and recreation will be allowed only weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The authority will also reduce the number of daily trips in the evenings, with most permitted only until 5:30 p.m., Blahovec said.

Saturday service will also be monitored and could be further scaled back in the future.

“We will be as flexible as we can with these measures and will do everything we can to maintain the highest level of service. We will also be very quick to end these measures and get back to our normal service levels as soon as we are able to hire and train an adequate number of drivers,” Blahovec said.

The Go Westmoreland system provided more than 800 daily rides before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Ridership fell off dramatically in early and mid-2020, but, over the past few months, the number of passengers using the shared-ride system has increased. Officials said the system now provides more than 500 daily trips.

Blahovec said rides for essential services such as doctor’s visits, work and grocery shopping will not be impacted by service cut backs.

The authority has dealt with driver shortages for years, but the pandemic only exacerbated the problem, officials said.

It will conduct a hiring event from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 1 at the transit center in Greensburg, when applicants can apply for, interview and receive on-the-spot job offers. Job applications can also be found on the authority’s website.

Go Westmoreland drivers operate small passenger buses and do not require a commercial driver licenses. Applicants must be at least 25 years old and be able to pass a PennDOT medical exam, drug and alcohol testing, a driving record review, criminal background check and obtain a state child abuse clearance.

The starting salary for new drivers will be $14.33 an hour. Newly hired drivers will receive a $750 signing bonus after six months on the job, officials said.