Detroit officials hope a long-awaited pay increase for city bus drivers will help address a staff shortage contributing to late buses and missed rides, but transit advocates say pay must keep pace with neighboring bus systems.
Mayor Mike Duggan announced an agreement to raise driver wages by $3 per hour, pending City Council approval, increasing the minimum wage to $19.15 per hour and the maximum pay to $25.61 per hour after four years. The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) has a shortfall of around 100 bus operators, but expects to be fully staffed by the end of the year and to add 100 more drivers for a total of 600.
Quarterly attendance bonuses will increase by $500 under the agreement, creating a potential $6,000 in extra income for drivers who have under four unexcused absences each quarter. More than three-quarters of DDOT drivers earned the attendance bonus in the last quarter of 2023, according to the city.
“What we want to do is build a culture of reliability where the operators show up as scheduled and the buses show up as scheduled,” Duggan said during a Thursday press conference at the Shoemaker Terminal on Detroit’s east side.
The new DDOT salaries are slightly higher than wages for bus operators with the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).
SMART bus operators are paid $16.50 per hour during training and start at $19.11 per hour after completing an eight-week course, according to its website. ATU Local 26 President Schetrone Collier said that could change once a new SMART contract is approved.
Union bus operators with SMART are in contract negotiations. Collier said ATU officials negotiating with SMART expect wages could rise by around 32% to $31.50 per hour. If approved, Collier said the gap with DDOT is a “big ass difference.”
“I’m sure that once (SMART) is done, it’s going to have an impact on attracting and retaining operators here,” Collier said. “(The city) felt that was enough. I don’t, but I’m grateful for the effort at least to shore up our ranks and provide the service that’s needed here.”
DDOT starting pay is still below the $22.98 national average for bus drivers in urban transit systems, according to federal data. DDOT wages are also below the $28.65 starting salary for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, which is viewed as the gold standard by transit advocates.
Duggan said creating a reliable workforce by raising wages comes first, but is just one of many issues affecting service that the city aims to tackle this year. Roughly 63% of buses were on time last year on average. Duggan said 2024 is “the year of no more excuses.”
“You’re going to see improvements in on-time performance by spring,” Duggan said.
DDOT will increase the number of buses in service from 130 to 190 by September. Duggan also teased a future announcement on a “fundamental change” for transit police to improve safety on buses. DDOT Interim Director Michael Staley said the city is partnering with private establishments to provide bathrooms for drivers who struggle to find facilities on the job.
“Anybody out there who suggests the problem with DDOT was just a pay raise doesn’t understand how a transit system operates,” added Duggan. “We have to work harder to reduce accidents in this system. We have got to improve security on the buses. We’ve got to improve the physical condition of our shelters and our bus stops. We have to improve customer service getting on and off the buses, and we have to improve our on-time performance.”
Duggan said the raises will cost the city roughly $2 million in additional operating expenses, but was already budgeted in anticipation of a wage hike. The pay increases are achieved through a memorandum of understanding between the city and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26. The union’s current collective bargaining agreement does not expire until July 1, 2025.
The current contract between ATU and DDOT, approved in 2021, raised starting pay from $12.99 to $15 per hour and created 2.5% annual raises for four years. Without the new raises announced Thursday, base pay would have been $16.15 this year.
Collier said city officials offered last year to open up the contract before it expired to negotiate a pay raise, but the union feared it would lose benefits. Collier said there was no negotiation between the city and ATU. The city offered raises and the ATU accepted, he said, but the increase is a step in the right direction.
“We will be going back to the table in 2025,” he said.
Collier said the raises will also benefit Detroiters who rely on the bus system. Adding more drivers will help ensure the bus schedule is dependable, he said.
“I was born and raised in the city, I’ve stood at the bus stop and not had a bus come when it’s 19-degrees outside and when you finally see those lights coming it looks like Jesus,” Collier said. “When you can’t feel your feet and your hands and you see that bus coming, it’s such a joyous feeling.”
Council Members Fred Durhal III, Latisha Johnson and Coleman Young II said the City Council will have a strong majority voting to approve the contract this month. The council returns from its winter recess next week.
City officials credited transit advocates like Michael Cunningham II for consistently pushing DDOT to raise wages. Cunningham, wearing a custom printed shirt reading “God raised the wage,” said increasing pay for trainees makes a “huge difference” in attracting new drivers.
“Recruiting for trainees could really explode because you’re getting paid to train at $19 an hour,” Cunningham said. “Inflation has really caused people to look around to how to stretch their dollar.”
However, Cunningham said DDOT needs to stay focused on closing the pay gap with other bus systems in Southeast Michigan. Michael Toler, a DDOT operator of 25 years and ATU board member, said the gap has made it difficult to recruit and retain drivers in Detroit.
Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United, noted SMART has a similar shortage of around 100 drivers and the city is right to focus on DDOT raises before addressing other big problems.
“Is that enough compensation for the work that’s needed compared to what people can get elsewhere?” Owens said. “It’s a huge step in the right direction and sorely needed. It’s not the only thing. Consistent schedules for new drivers, that is another area I’m hoping they will continue to work on.”
Cunningham also called attention to a shortage of mechanics needed to keep buses on the street.
Contracts expire this year for union mechanics represented by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. DDOT mechanic and AFSCME Local 312 President Muneer Islam said they also deserve a pay increase.
Islam said mechanics start at around $22 per hour and can earn a maximum of $25 per hour. He said there’s a shortage of at least 30 mechanics.
“We don’t have the buses on the street,” Islam said. “One hand washes the other. We need the help. We have the same issues, the wages are so low.”