Part-Time Labor, Work Rules, and Transit Costs

003342811981Final Report July 1978-December 1980PDFTech ReportUMTA-MA-06-0054-79-2, IIBus transitFaresImpact studiesLabor unionsRidershipSchedulingWork rulesAdministration and ManagementHighwaysPublic TransportationI10: Economics and AdministrationWashington (District of Columbia)United StatesUnited States. Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationChomitz, Kenneth MLave, Charles A.University of California, Irvine. Institute of Transportation StudiesUnited States. Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationFederal Transit Administration 50th AnniversaryThis research study examines two major issues: 1) the impact of labor union work rules on bus transit operating costs, and 2) the magnitude of cost savings that can be expected from the use of part-time drivers. These issues are examined within the context of finding ways to reduce transit deficits. The work rules analyzed in this report include restrictions on part-time labor, changes in spread premium, and limitations on maximum spread time for drivers. Labor costs were estimated using the RUCUS automated scheduling program which was applied to actual service schedules from five U.S. transit properties. The analysis yielded cost estimates for a total of 45 combinations of work rules and service schedules, and revealed that: 1) paying spread time after 10 hours, rather than 12, boosts labor cost by 4 percent to 7 percent with negligible effect on number of drivers required; 2) the effect of reducing the maximum spread time is highly sensitive to the peak/base ratio and the interval between the morning and evening peak; and 3) savings from the use of part-time labor, under favorable conditions, will be in the range of 3 to 8 percent but may be canceled out by wage increases necessary to secure union approval of the change. This report concludes that work rule changes are no panacea for transit deficits; the principal source of deficits is the decision to maintain low fares and low-patronage routes. The appendixes in this report include a glossary of scheduling terminology, and tables and simplified methods that can be used to estimate the cost effects of work rule changes in a given transit property. (UMTA)82