6 SeaBus sailings cancelled today due to transit strike

As the ongoing labour action of transit workers continues, so do the cancellations of SeaBus sailings.

• See also:
  • Transit union’s demands equivalent to 5 years of service expansion: CMBC head
  • Transit union demands will cost $608 million, employer says

TransLink has announced that on Tuesday, November 5, a total of six sailings on SeaBuses between Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver have been cancelled.

The cancelled sailings are as follows (note that these are the same cancellations as Monday, November 4):

• Six sailing cancellations in the afternoon

• • The 4:10 pm from Lonsdale Quay and 4:25 pm from Waterfront will be cancelled
  • The 6:20 pm from Lonsdale Quay and 6:35 pm from Waterfront will be cancelled
  • The 7:30 pm from Lonsdale Quay and 7:45 pm from Waterfront will be cancelled

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

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.

The uniform ban means that bus drivers on all routes will stop wearing the CMBC uniform, with the goal of increasing conversations and awareness of the ongoing negotiations with passengers.

The overtime ban means that CMBC technicians and skilled trades workers will refuse overtime shifts, which according to Unifor, will “gradually increase pressure on the system.”

On Thursday, the union warned that if an agreement was not reached, the overtime ban could “quickly lead to fewer buses on the road and could also affect SeaBus service,” due to a buildup in repairs and maintenance jobs.

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

With files from Eric Zimmer.