TransLink says no extra buses will be available during 3-day SkyTrain strike
TransLink will not be increasing bus service should Tuesday’s three-day SkyTrain strike move forward.
Michael McDaniel, president of Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC), says that bus service will operate normally and that higher passenger volumes on buses, the Canada Line, and the West Coast Express should be expected.
“CMBC customers should be aware that given our operational constraints and labour considerations, we are not able to increase bus service in response to the planned strike by BCRTC employees on SkyTrain this week,” says McDaniel in an emailed statement. “Bus service will be operating as it would on any regular weekday.”
SkyTrain employees staffing Metro Vancouver’s Expo and Millennium Lines will go on strike starting at 5 am Tuesday if a deal isn’t reached, resulting in a complete shutdown of service on those lines.
Buses, SeaBus, West Coast Express, and HandyDART will also continue to operate normally.
The news follows Friday’s announcement from CUPE 7000, the union that represents the 900 employees that service both the Expo and Millennium Line, and comes after four full days of mediation and 40 days of direct bargaining.
SkyTrain workers under the union voted 96.8% for a strike on November 21. The union says the contract for station attendants and maintenance workers on the Expo and Millennium lines expired on August 31.
According to CUPE 7000, the last SkyTrain strike was a single-day shutdown more than 20 years ago.
With files from Megan Devlin and Kenneth Chan.
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