OC Bus lines may be disrupted starting Tuesday. Here’s what you should know. – Orange County Register

Some bus routes throughout Orange County may be disrupted starting Tuesday morning, February 15, if hundreds of Orange County Transportation Authority bus drivers decide to pass with a strike. threatened.

The drivers, who are members of Teamsters Local 952, last month voted to allow the walk and announced last week that they would go on strike if talks are scheduled to resume this weekend. failed on a new contract.

The shutdown will begin at midnight Tuesday. Both sides have said they hope to reach an agreement by then, acknowledging the impact of a strike on residents. The groups are expected to meet on Saturday and have another session scheduled for Monday in the hope of reaching a resolution.

At a stop at Glassell Street and Katella Avenue in Orange on Friday morning, Michael Ross waited for OC Buses running on Route 50 to take him a stop to Walmart at the Village in Orange. He said he uses the bus every day, mainly to go to the supermarket or to CVS to get medicine.

Public transport is “very important to me,” he said.

If the bus doesn’t arrive by Tuesday, he says he’ll walk to the store in his wheelchair, “take my time and leave early.”

“I’ll leave around 6:30 a.m. while it’s cool, because I can’t stand the heat.”

Michelle Salazar, who was waiting at the stop with her grandmother, said she would be nervous about getting to work. She rides the 50 bus daily to work at Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, she said.

If OCTA and the union representing their bus drivers cannot reach an agreement by Tuesday, here are some things to know in the event of a strike:

Affected routes

The outage will affect 20 OC Bus lines around Orange County, which carry approximately 75% of the agency’s passengers.

The other 32 routes served by a contracted company will not be disrupted and OC Access, OC Flex, Metrolink and Amtrak will continue to operate as normal.

OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said people who need to use public transport can still board those buses if they can get to the stop.

Other options for passengers are to use a carpooling service such as Uber, Lyft or a taxi.

For those who may have purchased a bus pass, but can’t use it because of the warning, fares will be refunded for days without service, Zlotnik said.

Here is a list of routes that will be affected if the bus driver attacks:

• 1-Long Beach – San Clemente
• 29-La Habra – Huntington Beach
• 37-La Habra – Valley of the Fountains
• 43-Fullerton – Costa Mesa
• 47-Fullerton – Newport . Beach
• 50-Long Beach – Orange
• 53-Orange – Irvine
• 54-Garden Grove – Orange
• 55-Santa Ana – Newport . Beach
• 56-Garden Grove – Orange
• 57-Brea – Newport Beach
• 60-Long Beach – Tustin
• 64-Huntington Beach – Tustin
• 66-Huntington Beach – Irvine
• 72-Sunset Beach – Tustin
• 76-Huntington Beach – Newport Beach
• 83-Anaheim – Laguna Hills
• 543-Fullerton – Costa Mesa – Float!
• 560-Santa Ana to Long Beach – Hooray!
• 862-Santa Ana City Center Shuttle

Before the strike

Union and OCTA officials have scheduled meetings before Tuesday to continue trying to reach agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement for coach executives. The groups sent a mediator this weekend to act as a third party in the negotiations.

Negotiations between the teams have been going on for more than a year, since an existing contract for the Teamsters 952 bargaining unit, which represents around 600 OCTA drivers, expired in April.

The OCTA on Thursday called on Governor Gavin Newsom to intervene and prevent the shutdown before it can begin.

The Governor, if he believes that a strike would “significantly disrupt public transit services and jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of the community,” may institute a council to investigate the dispute and prevent a strike for up to seven days while the committee prepares his report. Newsom could then ask the state attorney general for a court order to halt work for another 60 days.

Zlotnik said Friday the OCTA has not received a response from Newsom.

The conversation stalled

After months of negotiations and two rejected contract proposals, bus drivers in January voted to allow the strike. Issues that have raised a resolution for the parties include wages and breaks for drivers.

Eric Jimenez, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters 952, said drivers “can’t afford to live in Orange County” at current wages, and many from the Inland Empire commute to work every day.

Union members, who had completely rejected previous contract proposals in September and January, also “would not agree to a contract that does not address fundamental issues of human need” , such as being allotted time for a meal during the workday, he said.

While union members are “very mindful of the disruption conflict will cause residents of Orange County,” Jimenez said, “however, we are confident that the bus fleet understands what they mean. The service ensures that the bus operators they represent are compensated with a fair and decent life and are given the opportunity to participate in basic human functions of eating and drinking. other human. ”

OCTA CEO Darrell Johnson said in a statement that the company “has exceptional coaching executives and we’ve made them a very generous offer to compensate them for their outstanding performance.” essential work they perform.

“All of us at OCTA recognize the hardship a strike would cause to thousands of bus-dependent passengers every day, and we are working hard to reach a successful resolution. ”

The groups have met about 40 times over the past year to try to reach an agreement.

Clock octa.net for an update on possible bus service disruptions and to check available potential alternative bus routes.