GRTC will play the Grinch just before Christmas and cut service as it struggles with a shortfall of about 50 full- and part-time drivers and shortages in the maintenance staff of mechanics and body shop personnel.

The changes to be effective Sunday, Dec. 19, will result in longer waits for the Pulse and slower and reduced service on 12 regular bus routes.

However, GRTC also is launching a pilot program to provide free on-demand service, such as Uber, for riders who need transportation on weekdays in the early morning and late at night to get to and from work or meet other needs.

GRTC announced Wednesday this on- demand service would allow riders to seek one no-charge ride per day between 5 and 6 a.m. or from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. from one bus stop to a destination bus stop.

The company said riders can access the service by downloading Uber’s mobile app on their cell phone or by calling (804) 358-4782 at least 30 minutes before the ride would be needed. All passengers using this service would need to be masked, GRTC noted.

Though aimed at benefiting riders, GRTC’s decision to test on-demand service is not going over well with the company’s union personnel.

Maurice Carter, president and business agent for Local 1220 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said his driver members are feeling betrayed by the company for choosing this approach, which he sees as a potential contract violation.

Among the affected routes will be Pulse, the east-west rapid-transit line that has become the backbone of the transit system.

On weekdays, Pulse service from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. would go from a scheduled 10- minute service per stop to 15-minute service, the current standard for weekends and for weekday service between 7 to 11:30 p.m. on weeknights. Service from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. would remain at 30 minutes.

The other announced service changes, which essentially represent a reduction of about one bus per route, are as follows:

Chamberlayne Route 1A will end service at midnight rather than 1 a.m.; Fulton Routes 4A and 4B will move from 30-minute to hourly service; and Cary, Main and Whitcomb Court Route 5 will slow to 30-minute service from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day.

GRTC stated that no changes are contemplated for 19 other routes, nor will there be any additional changes for express routes that were shifted to reduced service in September.

The company recently reported that it currently has 249 full-time drivers and 22 part-time drivers, with nine operators in training.

GRTC spokeswoman Carrie Rose Pace stated the company needs around 300 full-time drivers and 30 part-time drivers to avoid cutbacks.

She noted that the company began experiencing a shortfall of 10 to 20 drivers in 2019 as the company sought to meet requests for expanded service. The pandemic that began in 2020 has made the shortages worse, she stated.

Ms. Pace said the service reductions might prove to be temporary as some of the challenges to recruiting people have eased.