WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More people are heading back to work, and Palm Tran has the numbers to prove it.
Ridership is recovering after being down 60 percent a few months ago. In addition to earlier service to select routes, new job opportunities are rolling out to get people back to work.
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Randall Boler is a custodial worker who wasn't set back by the pandemic. Instead, in June, he seized another opportunity.
"You don't know how many bus drivers thank us. They always tell us, 'You don't know how many lives you save by cleaning buses,'" Boler said. "I understand the importance of having to get to and from work."
Boler depends on Palm Tran to get to work.
"It's a very dependable source of transportation for people who do not have cars," he said.
The numbers show it. According to Palm Tran's executive director, Clinton B. Forbes, while other transit agencies are still down 60 percent to 70 percent in ridership, Palm Tran is now down just 25 percent. Additional and earlier service started Sept. 14.
"We are definitely picking up in ridership," Forbes said. "We introduced additional service and listened to the voice of our customers. Our customers were saying, 'We're going back to work. The reduced service you initially put out is not enough to get us to work.'"
There are also bus operator positions immediately available.
"We have about 12 to 14 vacancies," Forbes said.
There are also administrative positions.
"It's really front-line faces, taking you places," he said.
To be a bus operator, you will need a commercial driver's license. Click here to apply.
Click here to review the new, earlier service on select Palm Tran routes.