Late Shift Workers Stuck With Few Transit Options

Public transportation for workers on so-called late shifts who don’t own a car or can’t grab a ride with someone is woefully inadequate, according to a study released Wednesday by the American Public Transportation Association, a global non-profit organization that represents the transit industry. 

“The lack of adequate late-night mobility options is costing both employees and employers,” according to the study titled “Supporting Late-Shift Workers: Their Transportation Needs and the Economy.” 

More than 17% of the workforce in the U.S. metropolitan areas work during late shift hours defined as between 4 p.m. and 6 a.m. Their economic impact is considerable, according to the study, representing $28 billion in annual wages and $84 billion in annual sale facilitated by late shift workers. 

But many of those jobs are also lower-paying service positions with a $30,000 median annual wage—$5,000 lower than the median wage for day shift workers, the study states. Those lower-paying jobs make it more difficult for some workers to afford their own cars, making them dependent on public transportation that often does not run 24 hours, leaving them stuck for a way to get to or from work.

In a conference call with reporters, APTA President and CEO Paul Skoutelas called them the “forgotten commuters,” and expanded on the challenges for them along with employers—especially in the food service and health care industries, saying “These industries have high projected growth rates but inadequate access to public transit services can prevent segments of the workforce from accessing better job opportunities while also increasing turnover and absentee rates for employers.” 

Indeed, employers and prospective employers are tuned in to a community’s ability to provide adequate transit for their employees, said Katherine Kelleman, President and CEO of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Penn. 

“It’s major employers who are coming to town or considering moving to Pittsburgh who are asking us about the strength of our overnight service or how strong connections are because they understand the best thing they can do for their employees is be anchored into a robust transportation network,” said Kelleman on the conference call. 

Some communities without, or with limited, 24-hour transit service are turning to novel approaches to assist late shift workers.

In Detroit, a pilot program launched in 2018 called “Night Shift” gives riders a $7.00 credit to use ride share service Lyft or a taxi between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. for rides to or from a bus stop along one of the city’s 10 all-night routes. 

Speaking on the conference call, Mark de la Vergne, Chief of Mobility Innovation in Detroit, explained the city was “looking for an opportunity that would be complementary to transit as opposed to something that would take away from ridership.” 

In much smaller Battle Creek, Mich., with a metro area population of just over 134,000, private industry has stepped in to fill the transit gap for the many late shift workers there since that city’s system does not run around the clock. 

Fort Custer Industrial Park houses 85 companies employing 13,600 people with about 30% working the second or third shifts. 

Formed as a non-profit last year through a grant, Aequitas Mobility Services convinced employers at Fort Custer to chip in startup capital by citing the financial hit they take through employee tiredness and absenteeism related to transportation issues.

Through Aequitas, workers can book rides on a shuttle bus to transport them during hours there’s no public transit available. They have to book the rides at least a day in advance. Aequitas began service in January and, according to the APTA study, transports 10-13 people each night. 

On the other end of the spectrum is Las Vegas, heavily dependent on the round-the-clock casino and hospitality industries. The issue there, according to the study is not so much the availability of transit during late shift hours, but rather expanding that service to further reaches of the widening metro area. 

In its conclusions, the APTA study defines some strategies for better serving transit needs for late shift workers including: establishing programs aimed at funding expanded service in the face of tight municipal budgets, investing in transportation infrastructure to reduce maintenance costs, embrace new partnerships to help fill transit gaps, work with private industry to help subsidize late-night transit as a way to attract and retain employees. 

As APTA’s Paul Skoutelas put it, when it comes to the increasing number of late shift workers, they shouldn’t be left waiting for a ride than my never come, warning, “as we continue to upgrade and modernize our public transport systems with an eye to the future we can’t afford to leave behind one of America’s fastest-growing populations.”