Ocean City Bus Driver Recruitment Goal Reached

OCEAN CITY — In an effort to continue the momentum from last year’s increased municipal bus system deployment schedule, the resort has surpassed a goal for qualified drivers for this season.

A few years ago, the public’s confidence in the resort’s bus system was shaken somewhat by unreliable time schedules and long waits at stops, largely due to a declining number of qualified drivers available. Last year, the Public Works Department’s Transportation Division made a concerted effort to hire and train more drivers and improve the level of service and the proof was in the pudding with soaring ridership numbers during the 2015 season.

Hoping to keep that momentum going, the Transportation Division stepped up bus driver recruitment again this offseason and has already exceeded the numbers from last season.

“The good news is we have met our goal and we have the licensed drivers in training classes right now,” Acting Superintendent of Transportation Wayne Pryor said. “We’re in great shape to meet our deployment levels from last year. We should be good to go with the drivers we have.”

From a five-year low of just 120 drivers in 2014, the number has steadily increased to meet the demands of the stepped-up deployment schedule. For example, there were 138 drivers in 2012, 137 in 2013 and 120 in 2014. However, the number of hired and trained bus drivers spiked up to 150 in 2015 and 160 qualified drivers have been hired for the 2016 season.

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