SacRT saw its highest ridership of the COVID-19 pandemic in May. Now, they’re hiring

As Sacramento gas prices are spiking, so is ridership of Sacramento Regional Transit.

RT carried almost 1.1 million riders this May, marking its highest ridership since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second time in three months that the transit system has surpassed 1 million rides a month. Light rail ridership was up by 12 percent and bus ridership was up by 8 percent since April 2022, Devra Selenis of SacRT told the Bee.

“(Ridership) seems to be driven somewhat higher by higher gas prices,” Selenis said. “Over the last month or two based on trends, you can correlate that. I don’t have 100 percent data, but it definitely looks that way.”

The capital region is seeing historically high gas prices — on Monday, the area gas price average reached $6.44 per gallon for regular grade gas, the highest the market has ever seen.

For less than the price of a gallon of gas, a person can ride the 440-square mile service area of the RT bus and light rail system all day, according to a news release from RT. The system is also free to ride for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

RT is responding to the spike in ridership with a hiring push, hosting an in-person recruitment event on June 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at RT Auditorium on 1400 29th St. The event is specifically intended to bring on more “bus drivers and essential staff positions,” according to an RT news release.

For the first time, Selenis said, RT will provide potential employees job offers on-site.

More information about RT’s hiring events is available online.

This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.