The next Bi-State Board of Commissioners meeting is Friday, November 19 @ 8:30am. Your comments will be read to the board during their meeting. We strongly encourage you to ask Bi-State to improve starting pay and benefits for bus drivers, so that we can fill our steep operator shortage and reduce the amount of time riders will spend waiting at bus stops this winter.

Starting pay at Metro is $15.88/hr, while starting pay across the state in Kansas City is $17.48/hr. If we want to solve our labor shortage, we should also consider returning to rear-door boarding, which helps to protect both bus riders and drivers from COVID transmission.

Bi-State received $142 million in CARES funding. St Louis bus drivers haven’t seen a raise in six years, and yet they kept a vital vein of public life running throughout a pandemic, one that we as bus riders depend on every day. They deserve hazard pay for their service in addition to a long-deserved raise. Metro should also re-examine policies that put their safety and ours at risk, like the decision to end rear-door boarding only a few months into the pandemic, while claiming that safety concerns require them to keep indoor waiting centers closed as cold weather approaches.

You can fill out this form to send Bi-State your comments. They will read your comments at the start of their meeting on Friday.

What is Bi-State Development?

Bi-State Development (BSD) is the organization that runs Metro. They are overseen by an appointed Board of Commissioners, who meet regularly to oversee the organization. Due to the pandemic, their meetings have been moved to being run virtually. You can find videos of recent meetings here.