VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver has been left without most bus services and SeaBus after weekend talks between transit supervisors and the Coast Mountain Bus Company broke down without a deal.
TransLink says bus routes operated by Coast Mountain stopped running at 1 a.m. and SeaBus sailings for the morning have also been cancelled.
The SkyTrain, West Coast Express, HandyDART and a handful of bus routes remain operational, although TransLink warns services will be busier than usual.
The 48-hour shutdown of Coast Mountain routes representing 96 per cent of the region's bus services comes after talks involving a mediator ended without an agreement.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4500, representing more than 180 supervisors, says pickets are planned at transit centres in Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby and Port Coquitlam, as well as at the SeaBus terminal in North Vancouver.
Both Vancouver International Airport and BC Ferries have warned passengers that transit to and from terminals could be delayed due to the strike action.
"We regret these disruptions and the challenges this will cause for the people we serve every day,” says CUPE 4500 spokesman Liam O'Neill in a statement.
“But Coast Mountain could have avoided this. Instead, they put us and, through their inflexibility, transit users in this situation.”
TransLink says it expects bus and SeaBus services to resume Wednesday.
Unions representing other transit workers have said they will not cross picket lines, and CUPE 4500 says it may seek to picket additional sites such as SkyTrain facilities if the Labour Relations Board allows them.
Coast Mountain president Michael McDaniel says the union has refused to adjust its demand for wage increases despite efforts to reach a compromise.
"CMBC offered increased overtime pay, improved benefits, and committed to hiring more supervisors," McDaniel says in a statement. "Unfortunately, the union again refused the improved offer. This is unacceptable and unreasonable."
McDaniel said last week that the union was seeking a 25 per cent wage increase.
The union says members need wage gaps with other TransLink supervisors closed before any lasting settlement is reached.
“With the help of our mediator, CUPE 4500 put in an honest effort to find some common ground with Coast Mountain," O'Neill says. "But we are still not near where we need to be in addressing our key issues.”
Tony Rebelo with CUPE Local 7000, representing SkyTrain workers, said Sunday that members wouldn't cross picket lines if they went up at stations.
CUPE Local 7000 sent out a bulletin Sunday warning members of the potential disruptions.
The bulletin said CUPE 4500 had made a Labour Relations Board complaint against TransLink, the BC Rapid Transit Company, West Coast Express, and Protrans for trying to "reduce the impact" on transit riders during the escalating strike action.
TransLink spokeswoman Tina Lovgreen said in an email Sunday that the company expects all SkyTrain lines to "operate as normal" Monday.
"At this time, CUPE Local 4500 can only legally picket bus and SeaBus," she said.
Cornel Neagu with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 134, which represents West Vancouver's Blue Bus drivers, also said Sunday that members wouldn't cross lines at hubs such as Phibbs Exchange in North Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2024.
Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press
