Excessive employee absences have forced the NRoute Transportation Commission to approve an attendance policy based on a point system to discourage unexcused absences.

The commission voted 2-1 Wednesday to implement the system, which goes into effect Tuesday. Commissioner Alvin Taylor voted against the policy, saying he wanted more time to review it.

NRoute executive director Evelyn Bumpers said the absentee problem has affected the transportation system’s budget.

“We have paid $13,599 in overtime, because we’ve had to bring in part-time drivers to fill in, and had full-time drivers work extra hours to make up for the drivers who don’t show,” she said. “It’s creating a morale problem, because the drivers who show up for work feel they’re being taken advantage of.”

The new policy sets a point scale from ½ to 10 points, based on the offense, such as tardiness, unauthorized absences, unauthorized leave and not coming to work.

The penalty depends on the number of points an employee receives with five getting a verbal warning and 10 points resulting in firing. Each employee starts with a clean slate on Jan. 1.

She said the policy had been reviewed by city human resources director Walterine Langford and by Landman Teller, NRoute’s attorney. Both approved the policy, she said.

In other action, the commission:

• Learned ridership for April was 2,488, down 256 from April 2011. Fares for April totaled $2,957.73, down $157.61 from 2011. The total ridership for the first seven months of fiscal 2012 was 20,420, up 373 from the same period in fiscal 2011, while fares for 2012 were $21,732, down $310.13 from fiscal 2011.

• Approved the minutes of the March meeting and the financial report.