Dozens of bus trips on major routes cancelled on Friday due to transit strike

Nov 8 2019, 5:04 pm

On Friday morning, dozens of bus trips along major routes were cancelled due to the transit strike.

A number of popular routes were affected by the cancellations, including the 3, 4, 44, and 95, to name a few.

“Union job action resulted in a reduction of frequency on 25 bus routes during the morning rush,” says TransLink in an email. “The majority of routes affected were high-frequency routes.”

The news comes after 40 buses were cancelled throughout Thursday and alongside 16 cancelled SeaBus sailings that will take place through Friday.

According to TransLink’s online alerts, as of 8:45 am, the following bus routes have cancelled trips:

  • 3 Main/Downtown
  • 4 Powell/Downtown/UBC
  • 5 Robson/Downtown
  • 6 Davie/Downtown
  • 7 Nanaimo Station/Dunbar
  • 8 Fraser/Downtown
  • 9 Boundary/Commercial-Broadway/Granville/Alma/UBC
  • 10 Granville/Downtown
  • 14 Hastings/UBC
  • 16 29th Avenue Station/Arbutus
  • 17 Oak/Downtown
  • 19 Metrotown Station/Stanley Park
  • 20 Victoria/Downtown
  • 22 Knight/Downtown
  • 25 Brentwood Station/UBC
  • 32 Dunbar/Downtown
  • 33 29th Avenue Station/UBC
  • 41 Joyce Station/Crown/UBC
  • 43 Joyce Station/UBC
  • 44 UBC/Downtown
  • 49 Metrotown Station/Dunbar Loop/UBC
  • 84 UBC/VGC-Clark Station
  • 101 Lougheed Station/22nd St Station
  • 123 New West Station/Brentwood Station
  • 129 Patterson Station/Holdom Station
  • 133 Holdom Station/Edmonds Station
  • 188 Coquitlam Central Station/Port Coquitlam Station
  • 189 Coquitlam Central Station/Lafarge Park
  • 351 Crescent Beach/Bridgeport Station
  • 403 Bridgeport Station/Three Road
  • 480 UBC/Bridgeport Station
  • 555 Carvolth Exchange/Lougheed Station
  • 601 South Delta/Boundary Bay/Bridgeport
  • 608 Ladner Ring

TransLink also says that Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is “making every effort to ensure reliable service, but the union’s job action will continue to have impacts on the system.”

“The union has been asked to return to bargaining and take part in mediation, but they have repeatedly refused,” says the transit company.

Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director and lead negotiator, however, says that while Translink wants the union back at the table, “they don’t want to talk about the key issues.”

The cancellations come after talks between Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) and the union representing TransLink’s bus drivers and SeaBus workers broke off last week.

Encompassing nearly 5,000 employees, the first phase of labour action includes a uniform ban by transit operators and an overtime ban by maintenance workers.

All three SkyTrain lines, West Vancouver Blue Bus, West Coast Express, and HandyDART remain unaffected by the labour action.

Vincent PlanaVincent Plana

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