City Commuter Woes Lessened by the Blues

By Mark McGuigan
Staff Writer

Oct 21 -- Thousands of stranded passengers have been pouring onto Big Blue Bus lines across the City as commuters scramble for alternative modes of transport following stalled negotiations between striking MTA bus mechanics and transport officials.

“Like everyone we have been caught by surprise,” Assistant Director of Operations and Maintenance Joe Stitcher told The Lookout. “We’d had word that the strike wasn’t going to take place, but we’ve responded to the best of our ability. We’ve put extra buses out and are monitoring the loads daily.”

Some 2,200 mechanics of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) have been on strike for the past eight days following the collapse of contract negotiations over the inflating costs of health care coverage. Nearly 6,000 MTA bus and train drivers walked off the job in solidarity and still refuse to cross picket lines.

But the strike, which has choked highways by forcing almost half a million commuters throughout the Southland to seek alternative transport arrangements, has been a boon for the Big Blue Bus line in Santa Monica, which is an independent municipal transit agency and not part of the MTA.

The fleet of 200 vehicles -- which covers a 51.4 square mile service area impacted by the strike action -- has been operating flat out since the strike was called Tuesday last week. The bus service has been honoring all MTA passes during the strike as well as accepting MTA tokens, according to Stitcher.

The Downtown LA Freeway Express or Line 10, which ferries people between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, is the most heavily effected route so far, according to Stitcher.

Eight extra buses have been added to deal with the burgeoning demand for space as 1,000 extra passengers -- a 700 percent daily increase in commuter traffic -- vie for a ride to work.

“But demand is exceeding capacity,” said Stitcher of the added service. “Unfortunately we still have had to leave some people behind.”

Line 7 from the Rimpau Transit Center along Pico Boulevard is the next biggest route, with a further eight buses deployed to spread the increase of 1,500 passengers per day. And ballooning commuter traffic has also been applying stress to other parts of the operation.

The Big Blue Bus service center received a record number of calls during the first two days of the strike, responding to more than 1,600 queries from worried commuters plotting alternative routes to work and has sustained that rate of calls every day since.

“On the first day of the strike we responded to over 1,600 calls,” said Customer Service Supervisor Jose Barba. “On an average weekday we normally have about 250 calls.”

But although negotiations between the MTA and the Amalgamated Transit Union -- which represents the striking mechanics -- remain chilled, negotiators returned to the discussion table Tuesday afternoon.

The MTA has agreed to pay $4.7 million to shore up the health fund, which is hemorrhaging $500,000 a month, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. However, the move, though welcome, will not get buses moving immediately.

MTA board Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky, who had informed reporters last week that the strike might be settled as quickly as this past weekend, said on Monday that his statements were "overly optimistic, if not woefully naive."

While bus and train drivers are not officially on strike, their refusal to break picket lines and return to work remains yet another stumbling block for the transit authorities.

Even if tentative agreements are reached between MTA officials and the United Transportation Union -- which represents bus and train operators -- it would take at least 24 hours before commuter services begin operating again, said Ed Scannell of the MTA.

Until that time, the Big Blue Bus will continue to catch the fallout of the strike action, Stitcher said.

“Like everyone we’re hoping for a quick resolution but we’ll continue the maximum service we can provide for as long as it takes,” said Stitcher. “People are rising to the challenge.”