#Summit County #Colorad
Impending cuts to the county government-run Summit Stage bus service are leaving some local workers in a bind. The Summit Stage will be cutting late night routes on all of its major lines for the winter, cutting back most hourly routes to every two hours because of a bus driver shortage.
The Frisco to Breckenridge, Silverthorne to Dillon to Keystone, Boreas Pass Loop, Wildernest Loop, Silverthorne Loop, Silverthorne to Frisco and Copper Mountain routes are seeing late night cuts. While it is unknown how many people will be impacted by the cuts, Summit County Transit Director Curtis Garner said the county targeted relatively low ridership routes, which tend to be running late at night.
Taylor Godfrey, a chef who works at a restaurant in Keystone, is one local worker being impacted by the cuts. After getting out of work at midnight, she takes the 12:25 a.m. bus from Keystone to Dillon to Silverthorne and then transfers to the 1:15 a.m. bus home to Frisco.
But starting Sunday, Nov. 24, that 12:25 a.m. route will stop running. The last bus of the night at 1:25 a.m. will continue. But that leaves service workers like Godfrey, who get out of work late and transfer to another route, stranded because there are no buses operating past 1:30 a.m., meaning no bus from Silverthorne to Frisco.
Godfrey said she has seen full buses of workers and revelers taking the same route home, meaning she is not the only person affected.
Garner said that he, the transit board and Summit County government understand that these cuts were painful and that they were not made lightly. But the continuing reality of a lack of skilled workers in the county — in this case, qualified drivers with a commercial driver’s license or those willing to apply and get trained — forced the Summit Stage to make the cuts.
Garner said Summit Stage is experiencing a 13% shortage in staff, which means existing drivers are getting burned out working overtime and stretching their days to meet the existing schedule. That 13% staff shortage, he said, is resulting in a 4% cut in operating hours.
Courtesy Summit Daily.
