Bay Area housing costs have SMART commuter rail service scrambling for engineers
The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit agency is set to launch service on a 43-mile line stretching from downtown San Rafael to the Santa Rosa Airport later this year.
But recruiting engineers, signal technicians and vehicle maintenance technicians is proving to be a challenge because of the costs to live in the region. In response, the agency board approved an 11 percent pay increase for those positions.
http://www.mercuryne...t-commuter-rail
SMART ought to run dedicated van service to import skilled labor from outside the district. Sloan