GO COMO bus routes to be discussed at City Council meeting Monday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The status of GO COMO bus routes is expected to be discussed at Monday's Columbia City council meeting, according to the meeting agenda.

GO COMO is facing a staffing shortage of 11-full time drivers, according to meeting documents. Drivers are working 12 hours of mandatory overtime per week, according to meeting documents.

GO COMO staff is expected to update the council on the GO COMO system and intend to combine the current six fixed bus routes to three routes due to the staffing shortage, starting in August.

"What some riders may be forced to do under route combining is board a bus that gets them to their destination earlier than they would like, or perhaps they would have to wait longer after their appointment or their work shift ends for a bus to arrive. Go COMO acknowledges the strain that this route combining will place upon those dependent on public transit, and we sincerely apologize to our riders," Columbia Public Works spokesman John Ogan said in an email.

"Go COMO would prefer not to combine routes, but it’s currently our recommendation that it take place in August 2023 to reduce the strain that continual mandatory overtime has placed on our operators," Ogan added.

Routes were temporarily combined in April due to a staffing shortage.