Good Earth Transit braces for its next hurdle: Driver shortage

Good Earth Transit will have a new fleet of bigger, environmentally friendly buses on the road by the end of June.

The service also has an immediate need for drivers to fill vacancies.

“The new buses run on low-sulfur diesel and bio-diesel blend; they’re very clean-burning,” said Public Transit Administrator Wendell J. Voisin. “You don’t see nothing but heat coming from the tailpipe.”

The engines are computer-controlled, which also improves fuel efficiency.

“Like everyone else, we’re suffering from this rapid increase in the price of fuel,” he said.

Bus fare will still be $1 per trip and $2.50 for an all-day pass when the new fleet enters service. However, Voisin does not know how long the fare can stay at these prices if costs continue to mount.

“The transit is a government-subsidized business,” he explained. “We get most of our funding from the federal government. The people we serve are mostly the ones with the least resources, so we don’t want to pass on the costs to them. But I imagine sometime in the future, the price of bus fare has to go up.”

San Francisco-based manufacturer Gillig makes the new 35-foot long, low-floor model buses, five feet longer than the current model. The new buses have a 32-seat capacity, compared to 29 in the current fleet, and two wheelchair stations located in the front.

The chassis are built out of stainless steel, which eliminates a constant problem from the old fleet.

“The chassis on the old buses often failed because they corroded easily,” Voisin said.

Lewis Coffman, a five-month driver at Good Earth Transit, has test driven one of the new buses and is very impressed.

“It’s like night and day,” he said, comparing the fleets.

Once all the electronic equipment and fare collection systems are moved from the old buses to the new ones, they will be on the road. The parish will likely sell the old fleet.

Due to a convergence of personnel on medical leave, the transit system needs drivers to fill slots. On Monday two supervisory staff members had to chip in and drive to keep the service operational.

Good Earth needs two positions filled immediately and several temporary slots are also open.

The bus schedule will temporarily have to be altered until the void is filled.

“We’ve had trouble keeping staff since [Hurricane] Katrina,” Voisin explained. “The oil and gas industry is doing very well, and the same qualifications you need for a bus driver (Class B Commercial Drivers License with passenger and airbrake endorsement), qualifies you to drive an oil truck which pays a lot better.”

Good Earth drivers make $10.77, or just over $22,000 a year. However, with overtime, “which everyone eventually does,” according to Voisin, drivers can make more.

Coffman, who used to drive a dump truck for the water-disposal company U.S. Liquids, insists Good Earth is an improvement over his last job.

“I used to chase the almighty dollar, but working here is so much better for me,” he said. “The job is laid back, I get good benefits and the insurance package is the best I can find.”

It takes from two weeks to two months to train a new bus driver depending on the skill set a trainee has.

Previous experience driving transit is not necessary for employment, according to the transit official.

“The things you need to be a good a transit driver are different from being a truck driver or a school bus driver,” Voisin said, “and we will teach them that.”

Anyone interested in applying for a position at Good Earth Transit can go to the Human Resources Department on the fifth floor of the Government Tower building in Houma or visit www.tpcg.org/hr.

Terrebonne Parish Public Transit Administrator Wendell J. Voisin shows off features of the bigger, more environmentally friendly buses, which roll out this month. The Good Earth Transit buses seat 32 people and are more fuel-efficient, Voisin said. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF