Some Lansing-area bus drivers made more than $100,000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Overtime pushed the pay of five Lansing-area bus drivers to more than $100,000 last year.

The Lansing State Journal (https://on.lsj.com/2o066Bo ) reports that eight more drivers made $90,000 to $100,000 at Capital Area Transportation Authority. The newspaper says overall expenses increased by $1.8 million in 2016 while ridership decreased.

Capital Area Transportation spokeswoman Laurie Robison says employee absences contributed to the need for overtime. She says drivers can work up to 16 hours in a 20-hour span but must take eight hours off between work days.

Robison says the highest hourly wage for a bus driver is nearly $26. Drivers and mechanics worked 56,000 hours of overtime in 2016, higher than 2015 but below the 89,000 overtime hours in 2010.

The bus agency serves Lansing, East Lansing and three townships.

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Information from: Lansing State Journal, https://www.lansingstatejournal.com