The 29-day London Transit strike has come to an end. Weekend service will resume on Saturday, December 19th however, full service will not resume until January 4, 2010. In the mean time there will be a modified week-day service beginning on December 21, 2o09. The modified schedule can be viewed on the London Transit website: http://www.ltconline.ca/Routes.htm

The question that many people are asking is, “why can’t service resume immediately?” The answer to this question is simple. Each bus in the LTC’s bus fleet is subject to Ministry of Transportation safety certification twice a year. Currently there are approximately 30 buses with lapsed safety stickers and a further 30 requiring new safety stickers by the end of December 2009. These required inspections are completed by LTC’s licensed mechanics who are returning to work this week. The inspections are in addition to required regular maintenance and servicing, noting certain buses are subject to more extensive maintenance requirements. As the buses are inspected, certified, repaired and cleaned, they will be placed into service. The nature and extent of the work to be completed and the availability of supporting infrastructure to complete the work requires service to be restored in a gradual, on-going basis.

If you purchased a pass for the month of November you will be eligible for a refund, or a credit for the month of January.The refund or credit can be arranged at the downtown ticket office located at 150 Dundas Street or at the 450 Highbury Ave N. office.  Applications for refund or credit will commence Friday, December 18, 2009. Refunds will apply immediately with the purchase of a January 2010 pass, and refund cheques will be processed within 10 business days. If you are in need of a refund application form, one can be obtained from this website:http://www.ltconline.ca/Pubs/PassRefundRequestForm.pdf

The LTC promises to provide free bus services this weekend in attempts to mend relationships with it’s riders. It is estimated that the LTC strike has cost the city an estimated $8 million dollars. The 53-day transit strike in Ottawa cost the city an estimated $8 million dollars a day for a total of $583 million. It can be assumed that because London is much smaller, and less transit-reliant a $2 million dollar daily impact is an appropriate estimation. It is predicted that there will be both long term and short term consequences as a result of the strike. Not only is an increase in fares apparently inevitable, but it will also potentially prove to be a deterrent for potential students, and other people who may have been previously planning to relocate to London. It is also suspected that some riders who have found other methods of travel may not return to using London Transit.

As service slowly returns back to normal, the LTC is requesting that people will respect the drivers and other transit workers despite their feelings surrounding the strike.

On November 16th, the first day of London’s first transit strike in almost three decades had a mild affect on the commute for Londoners, according to London police. Those who usually take the bus were forced to walk, take a taxi, bike, carpool or work from home. Taxi companies in the city stated that they were prepared for more calls, but they didn’t come. People seem like they were prepared for the strike and have adapted to alternative modes of transportation so far, but the question is how long will this last and how did we get to this point?

Last-ditch efforts to avert a bus strike broke down the morning of November 15th before the strike occurred and no new talks are scheduled. At a news conference on the 15th of November, Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best stated the London Transit Commission (LTC) offer was “more than fair,” at a time when London has Canada’s second-highest unemployment rate. Later,  the LTC released documents showing it had offered the union a 9% increase during a three period, including an 8.3% wage hike and improved dental, and disability benefits, and working conditions. The LTC claims that the union demanded a 20% increase in wages and benefits, during the three years. DeCicco-Best slammed the demands as irresponsible, with the city still mired in a recession. DeCicco stated; “These numbers are staggering, I have people who have trouble putting food on the table, who have trouble finding a place to live”.

On the other side of the table Pat Hunniford, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 741, said it was the LTC management that refused to budge. “We made some pretty big concessions from where we started,” he stated. Hunniford said the 20% increase in wages and benefits demanded by the union was an “old” offer, although the union made a verbal offer closer to 12% by the time talks broke off. He said the union’s wage demands were flexible and the two sides were only about 50 cents apart before coming to terms. While the talks stalled on benefit issues, including short-term disability and the dental plan. Hunniford said even with the union demands, the LTC workers are well behind their counterparts in other cities in wages and benefits. Hunniford stated; “it comes down down to how long the citizens will tolerate this and when the city hall will step in to stop this.” About the only thing the two sides agree on, is that the strike will cause hardship for thousands of students, seniors and working people who rely heavily on the transit system.

With no talks scheduled it’s tough to say how long the strike may last so the city has set up some alternative programs to help people get around:

For general information

Carpooling

Bike and Walking Maps

Both the University of Western Ontario and Fansawe College, whose students pay mandatory fees for LTC bus passes, are putting contingency plans into place. Here are the websites they have set up to pertaining to the strike.

The University of Western Ontario

Fanshawe College

(Most of the information for this article came from London Free Press article LTC update: Strike is on by Sun Media dated Novemeber 16th)