BusTalk

[Cyberider]

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1755227.php

Friday, July 6, 2007
OCTA, drivers in talks to avoid bus strike
Cooling-off period in wage dispute ends at midnight. More than 220,000 riders daily depend on system.
By ELLYN PAK
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Negotiations between the Orange County Transportation Authority and a union representing bus drivers will resume today to resolve a wage dispute and avoid a strike that could happen as early as midnight.

A bus strike seems imminent if the two parties cannot reach an agreement before a cooling-off period expires tonight.

"If they put some more money into this, if they put a sufficient amount of money in there, we'll be OK," said Patrick D. Kelly, principal officer of Teamsters Local 952. "We still have some issues."

The union, which represents 1,100 bus drivers, is locked in a wage dispute with OCTA over how much drivers should earn in the next three years. The OCTA offer has offered its drivers a 13-percent increase in wages and benefits over a three-year span, but union leaders say the offer does not match projected living standards. Bus drivers earn between $13.72 and $21.42 per hour.

Bus drivers are prepared to walk off the job at midnight if the two parties do not reach an agreement. Such a strike could affect a bus system that serves more than 220,000 passengers each day and maintains 900 buses. About 77 percent of bus patrons use the OCTA bus system four to seven days a week, according to a survey that the agency conducted.

"I would have to call work that I couldn't come in," said Eduardo Gonse, who lives in Orange and takes the bus everyday to his cashier job at a gas station in Costa Mesa. "I cannot depend on my son. He works, also."

Union representatives and OCTA negotiators met Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to hash out a new contract. Both reported that some progress was made. They will meet today for a final time today before the cooling-off period expires.

"If there was a work-stop, there'd be a reduction in service," said Joel Zlotnik, an OCTA spokesman on Thursday. "But in truth, our focus right now in the next few days is reaching an agreement that will allow the buses to keep running for the more than 200,000 riders who depend on us."

In May, an Orange County Superior Court judge – at the urging of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – ordered a 60-day cooling-off period that bars drivers from walking off the job and potentially leaving thousands of riders stranded. The cooling-off period expires midnight today.

"We believe the coach operators should be fairly compensated for the hard work they perform, and we think we can do that while at the same time looking out for the taxpayers of Orange County who fund the transit system," Zlotnik said.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3788 or epak@ocregister.com

[Cyberider]

Press Release from OCTA

July 6, 2007

Coach Operator Strike Forces
Major Reduction In Bus Service

Customers advised to check OCTA Web site or call for service
updates

ORANGE – Members of the coach operators’ union decided to strike
when a state-mandated 60-day cooling-off period expired Friday
and union leaders declined a contract extension offered by the
Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).

The strike was called after union leaders declined OCTA’s offer
to increase wages and benefits by 14.6 percent over the next
three years. The union has also rejected a contract extension
that could have prevented a work stoppage. Because of the
strike, OCTA has been forced to significantly reduce bus service
countywide.

“Everyone at OCTA wanted to avoid a strike because of the
significant impacts this will have on so much of our community,”
said Carolyn Cavecche, OCTA Chairman and Mayor of Orange. “We
are making every effort to provide as much service as possible
given the difficult situation and we hope we can reach a quick
resolution.”

ACCESS paratransit, OCTA express bus and Metrolink StationLink
bus services are running as usual. The strike does not affect
Metrolink trains. OCTA also is operating Route 43 from Fullerton
to Costa Mesa along Harbor Boulevard from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
weekdays only. ACCESS paratransit standard fares do apply, all
other routes in service are free to passengers. A total 31 of
OCTA’s 81 routes will be in service.

“We recognize this is a terrible inconvenience for our riders,”
said Art Leahy, CEO of OCTA. “We’re committed to providing fast
and reliable bus service, and that’s why we have called upon
union leaders to come back to the negotiating table. The coach
operators, their families and the more than 220,000 daily riders
who depend upon the bus service will all be hurt by this
strike.”

For the latest information: www.octa.net or call (714) 636-7433
(RIDE).

For carpool information: (800) COMMUTE or www.commutesmart.info
For cab companies: (949) 654-8294 or www.octap.net
For OC Flyer: www.octa.net/ocflyer

[Mr. Linsky]

Cyberider,

From what I understand, management will cover some of the OCTA routes beginning tomorrow morning.

However, I feel that they would be better off not doing so.

Such attempts in the past have caused further alienations between management and unions which have only served to prolong the walkouts and promote violence in the form of injury to personnel and vandalism to equipment.

The end does not justify the means merely because so few passengers will be served to begin with!

We certainly hope that an agreement can be reached as soon as possible, and that peace will prevail!

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"

20

[Cyberider]

I second your opinion, Mr. Linsky!

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-busstrike9jul09,1,7816210.story?
coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

Bus riders, OCTA bracing for difficult days
Some employers have hotlines for workers to get transit information during the bus strike. No talks are planned.
By David Haldane, Times Staff Writer
July 9, 2007

Orange County bus riders and transit officials were bracing for turmoil that could descend today as the strike by 1,100 transportation workers continued into the workweek.

If the drivers and Orange County Transportation Authority managers don't reach agreement soon, said Patrick Kelly, a spokesman for Teamsters Local 952, "it's going to be a long, hot July."

No negotiations between the drivers union and the agency are scheduled.

As the first bus strike in the county in 21 years threatened to drag on, companies sought ways to help workers with their disrupted commutes.

Disneyland, the county's largest employer, set up a carpool hotline for employees who have no transportation to work. By midday Sunday, spokesman Bob Tucker said, the line had received calls.

"We are working closely with our cast members and deploying various resources to make sure they can travel to and from work in a safe and sufficient manner," he said in a prepared statement.

OCTA workers spent much of the day staffing a customer-service call center, which received more calls than usual, and posting fliers announcing the strike at major transportation centers and along major routes. "We want to notify as many people as possible," OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said, "so they can make alternative arrangements."

Beginning today, he said, the agency will be posting "transit ambassadors" aboard buses that are running, as well as at hubs, to give out information.

For the duration of the strike, Zlotnik said, all bus rides will be free of charge.

"We think it's going to have a significant impact on riders," he said of the strike. "There are 225,000 people who depend on our buses every day, and we feel very badly that they have to be inconvenienced by this."

The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after union leaders rejected a salary increase and a 30-day contract extension for the drivers. At issue is whether the raises — bringing hourly wages to between $14.27 and $23.87 — should apply to drivers with less than five years' experience, which the union opposes.

Zlotnik said that 31 of the authority's 81 usual routes will be running and that only one of those — Route 43, connecting Fullerton to Costa Mesa via Harbor Boulevard — is a major route. Route 43 is being driven every 30 minutes between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays by OCTA managers who are licensed bus operators. The other routes, operated by a subcontractor, serve as rail feeders or station links or cover short routes.

"We are ready to talk at any time" to end the strike, Zlotnik said. "The union walked away from the table and went on strike. We will meet with them today, tonight, tomorrow — any time they want." Said Kelly: "We're hopeful that the OCTA board will give its negotiator a little more flexibility so we can get this thing wrapped up."

The board was expected to meet today, Zlotnik said, but did not have the strike on its agenda.

david.haldane@latimes.com

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocstrike11jul11,1,166816.story?
coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

Talks go on, but so does O.C. bus strike
A 25-hour bargaining session fails to produce results. Negotiations will resume today.
By Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
July 11, 2007

Orange County transit officials and the union representing bus drivers broke from a marathon 25-hour negotiating session late Tuesday with no agreement to end a strike that has crippled bus service in Orange County since Saturday.

The talks began at 1 p.m. Monday and continued through the night and into Tuesday afternoon. Talks are to resume today.

The strike has inconvenienced more than 225,000 Orange County residents, many poor, without cars, and for whom public transit is a lifeline to work, school, medical appointments and other destinations. Some have resorted to a hodge-podge of shared rides or unlicensed taxis to get to work; others have gotten up earlier to bike or walk to work. Half of Orange County's bus passengers earn less than $20,000 a year, and nearly three-quarters don't own a car.

Officials said they were hopeful the strike would end in "the next few days" but could not be more specific.

"We've made some progress," said Art Leahy, the chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority, at a news conference Tuesday. But "we don't have an agreement."

Patrick D. Kelly, the union's secretary-treasurer said OCTA representatives waited 12 hours before responding to a proposal the union put on the table at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. He declined to release details about the offer or say how it was viewed, but said the transit company's negotiators eventually walked out.

Carolyn Cavecche, OCTA chairwoman, indicated that the deal was still stalled by a disagreement between the agency and the union over how much of the raises should be allocated to workers with less seniority.

"Our transit system in Orange County has been crippled," she said. "We know how hard this is for the thousands of people who depend on us."

The two sides are fairly close on the amount for raises overall. But the union, which represents Orange County's 1,200 bus drivers, wants to put most of the raises into salaries of the most senior drivers, while the OCTA wants to distribute the money evenly to improve the salaries of lowest-paid drivers and enhance the authority's ability to recruit.

"This board wants to make sure 100% of our employees are compensated fairly," Cavecche said.

Kelly said drivers were fighting for an agreement to help them manage Orange County's high cost of living. With the most senior drivers earning between $45,000 and $60,000 per year, he said many still qualify for housing assistance in a county where the median home price is $635,000.

Union officials have said they want to award the biggest raises to the most senior members because those members have sacrificed for lower-tier workers in the past. They also say the OCTA could do other things to improve its recruiting and retention of new hires, such as fixing a split-shift system that requires newer drivers to take long unpaid breaks in the middle of their work day.

Kelly said that half of the 150 new drivers recruited by the OCTA each year quit within their first year, and half of those who remain quit by their second year. Leahy acknowledged Tuesday that the agency has struggled to retain employees with fewer than three years on the job.

Since the strike began Saturday, supervisors have been operating Orange County's most heavily traveled bus route, the No. 43 line along Harbor Boulevard from Fullerton to Costa Mesa. Officials announced they would add service along two more high-volume routes beginning Monday: the No. 57, from Newport Beach to Fullerton, and the No. 60, from Seal Beach to Tustin.

Buses will run every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and rides are free.

The transit officials also said they were in the process of hiring and training 15 new drivers, and expected them to be ready to drive in three weeks.

The new hires, they said, would be full-time permanent employees and presumably would become union members, though it was not clear how they would be expected to drive buses if their coworkers are still on strike.

Cavecche said the agency was also canceling its Orange County Fair Flyer service to the Orange County Fair this year, but may restore if a deal is struck in time. The fair opens this Friday.

christian.berthelsen@latimes.com

Staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this report.

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocstrike12jul12,1,625570.story?coll
=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

No progress in O.C. bus strike talks
Both transit authorities and union leaders say the other side won't make a deal on distribution of pay raises among drivers.
By Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
July 12, 2007

Negotiators for the Orange County Transportation Authority and striking bus drivers ended their talks Wednesday with no apparent progress toward an agreement that would end the 5-day-old strike, but with plenty of recrimination on both sides.

Blaming the stalemate on union recalcitrance, the OCTA chairwoman raised the specter of a protracted strike and encouraged the county's 220,000 stranded bus riders to make alternative arrangements for the near future.

The leader of the striking bus drivers union, on the other hand, dismissed that accusation and leveled a charge of his own, saying the agency's negotiators had walked out on the talks Wednesday without hearing a counterproposal.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume today at 11 a.m.

Both sides said the sticking point continued to be over which union members should receive the bulk of the wage increases under the three-year agreement. The agency, citing a need to attract drivers, wants to distribute the pay raises evenly across the experience spectrum to make the job more attractive to prospective employees. The union, however, wants to concentrate the raises among senior drivers to repay them for taking a smaller share in past contracts.

"There was some hope early on that we were going to be able to come to an agreement and get this strike over with," OCTA Chairwoman Carolyn Cavecche said Wednesday. But "this does not look like it is going to be solved if the union leadership is not willing to talk about fairly compensating all of our coach operators."

But Patrick Kelly, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952, said the group had agreed to OCTA's suggested hourly pay of $14.27 for new drivers in the first year of the contract, and offered to accept slight raises in the second and third year. By contrast, he said, "they haven't moved a dime since before the strike."

"We came here the other day to make a deal," Kelly said. "We came here today to make a deal. But we can't make a deal if there's nobody here to make a deal with."

--

christian.berthelsen@latimes.com

[Cyberider]

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1762704.php

Friday, July 13, 2007
Bus strike Day 7: Drivers lower salary demand
Union negotiator says move was intended to jump-start talks with OCTA to help end bus strike.
By DOUG IRVING
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA - Striking bus drivers offered a small but potentially significant concession to the Orange County Transportation Authority late Thursday in an attempt to end the labor dispute that has paralyzed the county's bus system.

With the bus strike heading into its seventh day, the drivers union lowered its salary demands to more closely match what the OCTA has already offered. The union's chief negotiator, Patrick Kelly, said the gesture was an attempt to "jump-start the negotiations."

Left unresolved, however, was the question of whether future pay raises will be distributed based on seniority. That has been the biggest hitch in the negotiations, with the union demanding bigger raises for veteran drivers and the OCTA pushing to spread the money evenly among all drivers.

The two sides negotiated until late Thursday and then took a recess until this morning.

The union had been seeking about $500,000 more in driver raises, above the OCTA's offer of $18 million over three years. Kelly would not say how much lower the union went Thursday evening, but said it brought the two sides "a little bit" closer.

The strike has left about 220,000 daily bus riders looking for alternative ways to get around. OCTA officials have warned that the strike could drag into next week or longer.

Two Hispanic advocacy groups, Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana and the Mexican American Political Association, led a rally Thursday outside OCTA headquarters in support of the bus drivers.

The Teamsters Union representing the bus drivers scheduled a "solidarity rally" for Monday morning.

Negotiators from both sides of the Orange County bus strike returned to the table this morning, still stuck fast on the question of how to divvy up millions of dollars in proposed driver pay raises.

The Orange County Transportation Authority has warned riders that the strike, already in its sixth day, could drag into next week or longer.

The two sides are close on the total amount of raises the bus drivers should receive – $18 million, more or less, over three years. But they continue to square off over whether the bulk of those raises should go toward veteran drivers at the expense of less-senior drivers.

Talks broke down Wednesday afternoon, with both sides pointing fingers and neither side budging from its position. They were scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. today.

Both the OCTA and the union have agreed that entry-level drivers should be making $14.27 an hour. The OCTA proposal spreads the rest of the raises evenly among all experience levels. The union wants small increases for mid-level drivers and a big raise for the most veteran drivers, pushing their hourly rate to $22.42 in the contract's first year.

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocbuses15jul15,1,6029379.story?coll
=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

Contract settlement ends O.C. bus strike
Orange County's transit agency reaches a tentative agreement with drivers to end a weeklong walkout. If the contract is ratified as expected Monday, service could be restored within days.
By Tony Barboza, Times Staff Writer
July 15, 2007

Negotiators for the Orange County Transit Authority and its bus drivers signed a tentative settlement Saturday that will end the week-long strike and could put most buses back on the road by midweek.

The strike, which has left the system's 225,000 daily riders scrambling for alternate transportation, was entering its second week when OCTA officials announced the agreement at a 9 a.m. news conference.

"This deal provides a very generous wage and benefits increase for all of our coach operators," OCTA Chairwoman Carolyn Cavecche said.

The proposed contract represents an $18.2-million increase from the previous one, giving raises of 10.8% to entry-level drivers and 11.7% to drivers with five or more years of experience over the next three years.

"We're not going to keep members out on strike any longer and inconvenience the riders," said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 952. "They [the OCTA] moved enough for us to settle."

Drivers were still picketing late Saturday, but stopped when negotiators signed off on the agreement.

Union members and the OCTA board still have to ratify the agreement before it takes effect. The union will be voting on the contract today, and the OCTA has called a special board meeting to ratify it Monday morning, officials said.

It could then take several days for the transit agency to restore full service, they said.

The proposed contract represents a compromise, because though it gives all drivers raises, it provides slightly higher increases for more experienced drivers. That had been a sticking point between the union and the OCTA, with the agency arguing for distribution of the raises evenly among its 1,100 drivers to make it easier to recruit new employees, while the union favored larger raises for senior drivers to repay them for taking a smaller share in previous contracts.

The actual increase in wages and benefits negotiated since the union walked out more than a week ago amounted to an increase of one-tenth of 1% — only $200,000 more than OCTA had offered before the strike began.

"This is a strike that didn't have to happen," Cavecche said. "Our coach operators have lost over $1 million in wages, and our riders have had a huge economic burden placed on them."

But union officials defended the strike, saying it had achieved significant improvements in its members' health insurance plans, pensions and wages.

"It wasn't just about money," Kelly said. "A lot of our people are very, very angry at the authority over working conditions and attitude…. They weren't taking us seriously. They just took us for granted until we started making noise."

The OCTA said it ranks 12th in the nation in ridership, with 68.5 million passengers annually. The agency operates about 460 buses at any given time, with a total fleet of about 900.

Once the agreement is finalized, the agency will start running buses on the most heavily traveled corridors, Cavecche said. "If I could turn-key it at noon on Monday, I would," she said. "But the logistics of getting an operation of this size up and running are enormous."

The striking drivers must first be formally notified that the strike is over. Then maintenance workers, who have not crossed picket lines, must maintain, fuel and, in some cases, move the buses into position.

Carol Murdock, a 27-year bus driver from Riverside, said she planned to vote for the contract because the $2.50-an-hour raise she would see over three years is a more attractive prospect than continuing to lose money in a drawn-out strike.

"Every week I'm out, I lose about $1,000," she said. "If we stay out another week, I suspect we'll lose people crossing the lines."

The county's bus-dependent population, much of it low-income, was still feeling the squeeze of no service this weekend. But the prospect of bringing back buses sometime this week brought hope to many.

"It will literally be a lifesaver," said Jane Reifer, spokeswoman for Transit Advocates of Orange County, who said the experience over the last week has made her want to see a system in place that would prevent such a strike. "One side doesn't get to negotiate, and that's bus riders."

For Cesar Cortes, 36, the news couldn't have come soon enough. Since the strike began, the Costa Mesa produce clerk said, he has left his house at 4 each morning lugging his dress clothes and nice shoes in a backpack so he wouldn't arrive at work sweaty and blistered from the hour-long walk.

Cortes considers himself lucky; some of his friends lost their jobs because they had no way to get to work, he said.

"I'm willing to pay 10 cents more — just give us the service back," he said, waiting for a rare bus to take him back from after-work shopping in Santa Ana. "I should be home right now."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocbuses16jul16,1,6488133.story?
coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=2&cset=true

O.C. bus drivers vote on tentative pact
Union ratification is set to finish today, just before management meets to consider the agreement.
By Dave McKibben, Times Staff Writer
July 16, 2007

Orange County transit workers began voting Sunday on a three-year contract that was expected to end the weeklong bus strike and put most buses back in service by midweek.

Negotiators for the Orange County Transportation Authority reached a tentative settlement Saturday with the Teamsters that would give drivers an $18.2-million increase from the previous contract.

Hundreds of the 1,100 striking drivers had already voted by noon Sunday and were thought to be voting in favor. The ratification is scheduled to conclude this morning at 8:30, an hour before the OCTA's special board meeting to consider the pact.

"As soon as the OCTA board approves it, operations will ramp up," said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 952. "I'll bet those buses start rolling late [Monday] morning."

By late Saturday night, hours after negotiators signed off on the agreement, drivers had stopped picketing and maintenance workers were returning to work at garages in Anaheim, Santa Ana and Garden Grove fueling, repairing and cleaning the idle buses. The 250-member maintenance workers union was not on strike — their contract expires in September — but they chose not to cross picket lines.

Kelly said his drivers could have returned to work earlier, but OCTA officials didn't want the buses to start operating under only a tentative agreement.

Joel Zlotnick, an OCTA spokesman, said he expected full service to be restored by Wednesday.

The proposed contract gives raises of 10.8% to entry-level drivers and 11.7% to drivers with five or more years of experience. The actual increase in wages and benefits negotiated amounted to an increase of one-tenth of 1% — $200,000 more than the OCTA offered before the strike began. But Kelly proclaimed victory Sunday.

"It's a defining moment for us," he said. "We only had three people cross picket lines out of about 1,400 workers. We made our point; hopefully the [OCTA] will begin to listen to our grievances over working conditions and they will start to take us seriously."

david.mckibben@latimes.com

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocstrike17jul17,1,5112087,full.story
?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=2&cset=true

Both sides in O.C. bus strike OK new contract
New pay structure to take effect for 1,100 drivers. Full service is expected by midweek.
By Tony Barboza, Times Staff Writer
July 17, 2007

The Orange County Transportation Authority and its 1,100-member bus drivers union approved a new contract Monday, ending the strike that shut down most of the county's public transit system for nine days.

The transit agency asked its drivers to return to their scheduled routes at noon Monday and said full service was expected to be restored by midweek.

OCTA will continue to let passengers ride free of charge through Thursday as the routes resume normal operation, officials said.

"We are all just delighted that in a matter of a couple of days this strike will be behind us," OCTA Chairwoman Carolyn Cavecche said.

Among other things, some observers say, the strike has forced a reexamination of mass transit in Orange County.

The OCTA board unanimously approved the new contract after Teamsters Local 952 ratified it 696 to 35.

The contract calls for an $18.2-million increase from the previous pact.

It gives raises over three years of 10.8% to entry-level drivers and 11.7% to drivers with five or more years of experience.

The increase in wages and benefits amounts to one-tenth of 1% — $200,000 — more than OCTA's pre-strike offer.

"It is a victory for us, but it's bittersweet because so many of our members had to suffer and so many riders had to suffer," said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952.

"It was bad for the public and bad for business."

The bus strike, Orange County's first in 21 years, highlighted the extent to which Orange County's working class relies on the bus system.

The county's 225,000 daily bus riders, 72% of whom don't own a vehicle, walked, biked and carpooled in the buses' absence.

But the walkout also showed that the OCTA, which ranks its ridership as the nation's 12th largest, is still bus-dependent.

Although the agency operates the county's system of carpool lanes and partners with Metrolink to run a portion of its commuter rail system, the number of daily train riders is only 13,000. Additionally, many of the county's carpool lanes do not meet minimum federal standards requiring rush-hour traffic to flow at least 45 mph.

Efforts in recent years to build a more comprehensive countywide rail system have been shelved.

"As Orange County continues to grow and there are more cars and more people, we need to make public transportation as efficient and convenient as possible," OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said. "We need to make it more attractive to commuters."

While the OCTA plans to boost the number of Metrolink trains, pledging service between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel every 30 minutes from 5 a.m. to midnight on weekdays by 2009, most travelers will still rely on the bus.

That fact has recently led the agency to plan three rapid bus lines to take riders along major routes with fewer stops.

The OCTA approved the plan last month, and officials have billed it as a way to approximate the speed and capacity of light rail with the flexibility and low cost of rubber tires.

The strike has caused some to call for a fresh look at commuting alternatives.

"We need to look at different modes of transportation in this county," said Sarah Catz, director of the Center for Urban Infrastructure at UC Irvine.

"We need to look beyond bus and beyond Metrolink."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

[Cyberider]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocbuses18jul18,1,7405641.story
?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

Many O.C. bus drivers back behind the wheel
The OCTA vows to restore full service by Friday. Through Thursday, rides are free.
By Tony Barboza, Times Staff Writer
July 18, 2007

Hundreds of Orange County bus drivers were back on the job Tuesday, with the familiar whoosh of passing buses gradually returning to the streets after a nine-day strike.

The Orange County Transportation Authority had asked the drivers to return to their scheduled routes Monday at noon, but only 35 showed up, said OCTA spokesman Ted Nguyen.

By late Tuesday, 784 drivers out of 1,100 had reported to work.

Buses were rumbling along normal routes at 75% of their pre-strike numbers. Each of the system's 81 routes had at least one bus operating, Nguyen said, and officials were focusing on restoring full service to the most heavily traveled corridors first.

"Service will be spotty, but our goal is to ramp up very quickly," he said.

The strike ended Monday after the OCTA and the bus drivers union ratified a new contract.

Rides are free through Thursday "as a small token of our appreciation for their sacrifice," Nguyen said.

Officials have pledged to restore full service by Friday, when they will once again begin charging fares.

OCTA employees were stationed at the county's transit centers Tuesday to help riders identify available buses, Nguyen said.

The new contract will give drivers pay raises ranging from 10.8% to 11.7% over three years, depending on their levels of experience.

Both sides applauded the new contract but regretted the strike's heavy toll on the county's 225,000 daily bus riders who have been carpooling, biking or walking.

tony.barboza@latimes.com