"Stressed out": Surrey transit rider reflects on greater impacts of the strike

@Daka_x/X

A Surrey transit rider shared his experience of being stranded well past midnight once it was determined that a bus strike would commence, and his concerns aren’t just about getting from point A to B.

Daryl Dela Cruz is worried about how this strike could impact his livelihood and shared some insightful concerns about how already stressed-out workers, like those in the healthcare sector, will have their well-being affected further.

“This is definitely a setback for me as I’ll have to pay big costs out of my savings if I have to get a taxi or an Uber to go to interviews and assessments,” said Dela Cruz, who is currently seeking employment.

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Dela Cruz, who is the founder of SkyTrain4Surrey, shared a post on X about how 15-20 riders were stranded after 1 am on Monday.

It’s 1AM and I am standing here at the Surrey Central bus loop. About 15-20 riders are standing here and about to be stranded, as final 320/321 buses no-show for the surprise early cancellation of services due to #TransLinkStrike. #SurreyBC #bcpoli #TransLink #vanpoli pic.twitter.com/m6jOJ7HJJB

— Daryl DC 🚅🚇🚡🚍 (@daka_x) January 22, 2024

“People on the late-night SkyTrains are often rushing down the stairs to get to the late-night bus,” Dela Cruz told Daily Hive.

“If you live in Surrey, then you know that Surrey Central bus loop is not a great place to be at 1 in the morning.”

According to Dela Cruz, communication from TransLink could’ve been better.

“I even saw a bus leave with a ‘not in service’ and the driver didn’t stop to tell these people there would be no more buses,” he said.

“If I hadn’t said anything, these people would have been waiting for a long time in the dark and the cold.”

Media you absolutely have permission to use this, this is raw footage of me telling N19/320 bus riders at #SurreyBC Central SkyTrain station that they are now stranded due to early cancellation of buses due to #TransLinkStrike. No staff anywhere, just me here saying to get a Uber pic.twitter.com/5H05PrGHh2

— Daryl DC 🚅🚇🚡🚍 (@daka_x) January 22, 2024

Thankfully, Dela Cruz doesn’t live too far from the station so he could walk home. But others heading into work waiting for the N19 bus from Surrey to Vancouver weren’t so lucky.

Dela Cruz is also concerned that this could drag on a long time.

“I know my friends in healthcare are stressed out because that system is so overburdened right now. They are overworked and tired already and use transit because the hospital is near transit,” Dela Cruz said.

He added that people use transit to get around the high cost of living in Metro Vancouver, hoping this doesn’t avert people’s hopes in public transit. He is worried that people may second-guess the system and resort to buying a car.

“That possibility of a SkyTrain stoppage makes me especially anxious. Many bus riders made SkyTrain their plan B, and now they need a plan C.”