As we go to press, a total shutdown of the SeaBus and TransLink bus system looms for three days beginning Nov. 27 due to a labour dispute between the Coast Mountain Bus Co. and Unifor.
The 2001 strike was bad, but we endured it. Today, however, we predict an all-out gong show. The population has ballooned and transit ridership with it. The last census found we are increasingly reliant on workers from across the inlet.
If every one of the 20,000 people per day who come and go via SeaBus chose to drive, it would cripple both of the already stressed bridges and the arterials that lead to them. That’s to say nothing of the thousands more who come and go on our packed buses.
The union has their interests and Coast Mountain has theirs. Meanwhile, we have places to go, people to see and bosses to please. We need to pull together right now.
From employers, we want to see some flexibility on hours and telecommuting wherever possible. For those who have no choice but to show up via cars, we want to see carpooling and lots of it.
Put some air in the tires of your old bike. If you’re making a drive to the store, ask your neighbours what you can grab for them. It should almost go without saying, but if you don’t have to be on the road at rush hour – don’t.
Incidentally, these are all things we know we need to be doing more of anyway. Our climate and our nerves have both been severely frayed by our reliance on inefficient transportation and land use choices. Nothing will drive that home like driving home during a transit strike.
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