The T needs dispatchers, and will continue to dangle $10,000 sign-on bonuses to hire them

With train service still running at diminished levels, staffing efforts in the MBTA's operations control center have plateaued since December, and the agency will continue to offer a $10,000 sign-on bonus through June to try and attract the dispatchers critical to reversing months-long service cuts.

Officials on Thursday reported a significant year-over-year boost in hiring across the MBTA, which like many other transit agencies has struggled with major workforce challenges since COVID-19 hit, while simultaneously indicating that they are still short on heavy rail dispatchers and bus drivers.

As of Jan. 26, the T had 27 Orange, Red and Blue Line dispatchers working in its operations control center, MBTA Chief Human Resources Officer Tom Waye said at a workforce subcommittee meeting. That's the same number of dispatchers described as on the job in each update since early December.

Waye's presentation said the MBTA is "targeting two additional full-time dispatchers and five spare dispatchers," up from the one full-time dispatcher and five spare dispatchers he cited as the goal last month.

The starting salary for a heavy rail dispatcher is $106,267.

MBTA managers have not made clear what staffing milestones they need to achieve to reverse the weekday service cuts to the Red, Orange and Blue Lines that the MBTA implemented in June, when the Federal Transit Administration said the shorthanded dispatcher workforce represented a safety problem.

Adding another layer to the issue, MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said last week that "restoring heavy and light rail service levels is largely dependent on the availability of motor persons to operate the trains."

"The MBTA hired 25 new train operators in the last quarter but needs to continue recruiting new talent," Pesaturo said.

A heavy rail train operator earns $23.11 an hour after graduating from training, and a light rail train operator earns $22.43 an hour after graduating from training.

On the bus front, where cuts have also persisted as a result of worker shortages, Waye said Thursday the T has 349 vacancies compared to the amount of bus operator positions budgeted.

Bus operators start at $22.21 an hour for 30 hours per week, with the potential to advance to 40 hours a week, and eligible candidates will receive a sign-on bonus of up to $4,500.

Waye voiced optimism about the staffing outlook across the MBTA. In the first two quarters of fiscal year 2023, the T hired 676 people, representing a 97% increase from the first two quarters of fiscal year 2022, according to Waye's presentation.