Johnson County SEATS is feeling the impact of the statewide bus shortage

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – A study by the American Public Transportation Association found that 96% of transit agencies are experiencing labor shortages.

Johnson County SEATS is one of those agencies.

The public transport system offers free rides to people who are unable to drive. Many elderly, disabled or injured people use SEATS to get to grocery stores, doctor visits and appointments. Every trip is planned in advance.

But Johnson County SEATS doesn’t have as many drivers as it needs.

“The job market just isn’t there. We are not getting any applicants in,” said Dawn Alam, executive director of SEATS. “We have more and more applicants who are not being retained for various reasons,” said Alam.

SEATS hires both full-time and part-time employees. When a full-time position becomes available, the position will be offered to part-time employees first. But recently, these employees have not wanted to advance, leaving full-time positions open.

“In my 15 years here, we have not had any external full-time positions. In the last five years we have had four. And three of those four were in the last year,” Alam said.

The transit service provider is working to outfit its fleet with stickers to advertise job openings and is also improving its hiring and training processes.

But it also ensures that it values its current drivers.

“The willingness of the employees to really step in and help us when things get tough. We owe it all to them, we are lucky to have them,” said Alam. “We want to make sure they are happy and we make this a good place to work so they want to be here,” she said.

You can find an application to become a SEATS driver here.

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