Shortage in University of Iowa Cambus drivers prompts decrease in service

IOWA CITY - For the next few weeks, University of Iowa students wanting to hitch a ride across campus on the university's transit service might have to wait longer for a bus due to a shortage in drivers.

Instead of running the usual three buses on both the red and blue Cambus routes, which circle the central UI campus heading in opposite directions, Cambus is running two buses on each of those routes. The decrease means buses could be more crowded and now arrive at stops every 15 minutes instead of every 10 minutes during daytime hours on weekdays.

The popular routes' evening, night and weekend services have not been impacted, and no routes have been canceled.

Transportation officials said they temporarily reduced the bus service to make up for a lack of drivers who were prepared to take the wheel when fall classes began Monday. But about 40 student drivers are being trained or are about to start training, and Cambus service is expected to be running normal routes at full capacity by mid-October, transportation officials said.

The crop of new student drivers coming on board over the next few weeks is expected to restore the service to full staffing levels of 170 employees, according to David Ricketts, director of UI parking and transportation.

'We're dedicated to providing safe and convenient transportation,” Ricketts said in a statement. 'And making sure we're fully staffed is a top priority.”

The UI Cambus service is supervised and operated by students and provides free rides to students, faculty, staff and the general public on and near campus. It has 16 routes that connect the east and wide sides of campus and also service the athletic complexes, UI Hospitals and Clinics, and commuter lots. The service, which has routes running around the clock seven days a week, provides nearly 4 million rides a year, according to transportation officials.

Typically, Cambus hires about 80 new drivers a year, but the pool of new applicants of late hasn't kept pace with the turnover, officials reported Wednesday. So, in addition to the new hires being trained, Cambus is recruiting more drivers at a starting wage of $11 an hour with the potential to reach $14.55 an hour.

Qualified applicants are UI students who have good driving records and can commit for at least two semesters. They must go through 50 hours of training to obtain a commercial driver's license.

Cambus manager Brian McClatchey said he can only speculate as to why Cambus has seen fewer applicants of late.

'There seem to be fewer students looking for employment,” he said, adding that he's seen a lot of other local employers looking for new hires. 'It's gotten more competitive in the community for student employees.”

McClatchey pitched the Cambus opportunity as a resume builder with supervisory experience.

'We hope more students realize we're one opportunity to make an impact on the campus community and help pay for their expense,” he said.

The Gazette last year reported a relatively low accident rate for the Cambus system. It had logged five accidents involving pedestrians in the previous five fiscal years, and it had filed reports for 126 accidents during the same period, according to The Gazette report.

Its best year for accidents was the 2013 budget year, when just 17 were reported. It tallied its most accidents, with 38, in 2011. During that five year span, Cambus averaged about 850,000 vehicle miles a year.

There have, however, been some notable Cambus accidents on campus in recent years. A UI student who was hit by a Cambus in September 2011 filed a lawsuit last year accusing the driver of hitting her while she was in a crosswalk.

A pedestrian also was hit by a Cambus on Clinton Street in May 2013.