Battle Creek Transit will transition two routes back to regular service beginning Monday

Improved staffing levels at Battle Creek Transit will allow two fixed bus routes to return to their regular service and schedules beginning Monday.

The 3E - Main/Post and 4N - NE Capital routes will be serviced every 30 minutes, between 5:15 a.m. and 6:45 p.m., effective Monday, according to a release. These routes had been combined since Dec. 19 due to staffing shortages.

BCT fixed bus routes will continue to operate from 5:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fixed bus route service on Saturdays continues to be temporarily suspended.

Tele-Transit will run from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and BCGo will run from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the release. Both services will also continue to be temporarily suspended on Saturdays due to staffing.

"BCT continues to focus on the recruitment and training of new drivers, and it is our intent to return to regular operations as soon as possible," Public Transit Director Mallory Avis said in the release.

To continue to provide service on all fixed routes, some buses will continue to alternate between routes throughout the course of the day.

The updated BCT fixed route schedule, effective Monday, is as follows:

• 1W - W. Michigan/ 3W - Kendall Goodale — This route will service the 1W route at 15 minutes after each hour and the 3W route at 45 minutes after each hour.

• 2W - Columbia Territorial / 2E - Emmett/East Avenue — This route will service the 2W route every other hour at 15 minutes after, starting at 5:15 a.m. The 2E route will be serviced on the opposite hours at 15 minutes after, starting at 6:15 a.m.

• 3E - Main/Post — This route will operate every half hour, leaving downtown at 15 minutes and 45 minutes after each hour.

• 4N - NE Capital — This route will operate every half hour, leaving downtown at 15 minutes and 45 minutes after each hour.

• 4S - SW Capital — This route will continue to run every hour.

• 5W - Fort Custer/VA — This route will continue to run every hour. The VA express will also continue as scheduled in the early morning and late afternoon at 45 minutes after.

Hourly bus routes will end each day at 6:15 p.m. All half-hour bus routes will be serviced at 6:15 p.m., ending each day at 6:45 p.m.

BCT has been grappling with a driver shortage since shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020.

"We are feeling this shortage with technicians and utility workers in our maintenance department as well," Avis told the Enquirer in December. "We were fortunate to be able to maintain services throughout the peak of the pandemic. However, as demand returned to normal/pre-pandemic levels, that shortage began to worsen and we have been recruiting ever since."

BCT is actively looking to hire both part-time and full-time drivers. CDL positions start at $20.61 per hour, with no experience necessary, and include paid training. Non-CDL positions start at $18.15 per hour.

All positions offer a benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision insurance and a retirement savings account with an employer match, among other offerings. Those interested can apply online at battlecreekmi.gov/jobs.

More information regarding fixed routes and the updated service schedule can be found at battlecreekmi.gov/transit.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Battle Creek Transit to transition two routes back to regular service