Students and businesses in the Comox Valley and Campbell River might need to coordinate rides more readily with a bus strike looming.
The strike notice announced Monday night by transit workers of Unifor 114 will see bus service end starting Friday until a tentative deal can be reached with contractor PWTransit. The main concern for workers is wages.
A statement from PWTransit says the workers voted to reject two tentative agreements on Nov. 21 and Dec. 5. They add the Dec. 5 tentative deal would have seen a more than 18 per cent increase in overall compensation over three years, with a total increase to wages of 15.5 per cent.
In the Comox Valley, concerns about service provision have already been voiced. As part of a letter sent to the Comox Valley Regional District, Sid Williams Theatre general manager Deborah Renz says they already have issues with employees making it in to work.
“As a non-profit employer, our wages are a little on the lower side in the labour market so things like transit are really helpful,” said Renz.
“So much of our work is later in the evening and at night and the local transit becomes quite sparse at night, it sometimes is quite a Rubix Cube on ‘how are people going to get to work and how people are going to get home?’”
Renz says they were starting to see more and more people calling in to say that their bus route had been cancelled and they would maybe be unable to get into work. With the holiday in swing at the theatre, full cancellation of bus service would likely cause issues not only with staff but with show attendees and cast and crew as well, according to Renz.
It is not just the Sid Williams Theatre or local businesses feeling the pinch. North Island College Student Union executive director Carissa Wilson says the loss of transit will be a large blow for students, especially because of the cost savings.
“It’s not about saving time. Our transit system is quite slow in the Comox Valley so it really comes down to economic reasons,” said Wilson.
Wilson adds with new courses and programs starting in the new year, students might have issues getting to school and it could take away from on-campus life and morale.
“Students might be able to get to their classes but they’re not going to be able to engage in their extracurricular activities as well,” said Wilson. “January is already a harder time, it’s a bit greyer and the days are pretty short. It will impact students’ general well-being.”
PWTransit adds they are unable to provide a return to service date, but HandyDART will continue to run as an essential service.
Wilson says the student union stands in solidarity with the union members, adding that more funding is needed to better serve the region with transit.
Renz adds this could be an opportunity to look at how the service is provided and how it can be changed to better suit that area and attract more drivers.
