With no end in sight to the month-long Fraser Valley transit strike there is mounting pressure for the provincial government to step in.
The strike, which has been ongoing since March 20, has cut regular bus service to Abbotsford, Agassiz-Harrison, Chilliwack, Hope and Mission,
While HandyDART is operating at essential service levels for passengers requiring treatment for cancer, multiple sclerosis, and renal dialysis, more than 5,000 commuters who depend on affordable, reliable transportation have been struggling to find what are often more costly alternatives to get around.
“It’s getting worse because my legs don’t work, said a transit user named Susan, who declined to give her last name.
“I can’t walk without the wheeler walker and I rely on the buses.”
Susan told Global News she ventured out to treat herself to a pizza, one of the few foods she can eat, and the short trip from her building involved crossing a busy intersection with no crosswalk.
International students at University of the Fraser Valley, who normally take advantage of a free bus pass through school, say they’ve been forced to add Uber to their budgets.
“Uber has become very expensive due to high demand so it’s impacting us really bad,” student Azeez Kataria said.
“We have to work two more hours daily to earn that money to spend on Uber,” added student Coral Makkar.
The financial toll is also being felt by the 213 striking CUPE Local 561 members, who say they’d like to get back to work.
“(Over) 34 years you get to know a lot of people on the buses and they really like to see a bus coming and get on the bus to where they need to go,” CUPE Local 561 member Marcel Grenier told Global News.
“It makes them a lot happier — I can’t imagine what it’s like for them.”
Fourteen-year CUPE Local 561 member and single mother Rachna Ghura said she’s footing extra bills during the ongoing strike, including her two daughters’ Uber charges and taxi costs so her mother, a cancer survivor, can get to her medical appointments.
“I serve the community, I know the people and people approach me when in the grocery store, in the temple, and it’s quite emotional, I feel helpless,” Ghura said.
The workers are fighting for a pension and wage parity in their dispute with First Transit, a U.S.-based contractor hired by BC Transit.
CUPE Local 561 says its members make about one-third less than bus drivers and maintenance workers in the Metro Vancouver transit system.
“We want a fair deal so were going to be out here until we get a fair deal, and we’d like them to come and sit down with us,” CUPE Local 561 strike coordinator Elizabeth Roux said.
Global News reached out to First Transit but did not receive a response by deadline.
CUPE Local 561 members have been without a contract since April 2020.
The union said no talks are scheduled, and it doesn’t appear the province is ready to step in to end the labour dispute.
“I have offered mediation services, they are still available, but both parties have still not come to that conclusion that they need mediation,” B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains told Global News.
“Mediation can’t help in my view until they agree and they’re ready for mediation.”
Susan said she supports bus drivers and wants to see them get the deal they deserve.
“They’ve always been very good to me,” Susan told Global News.
“Why should they be paid less than the rest of the province.”
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