Grand River Transit buses, MobilityPLUS and busPLUS not running as workers strike

Buses are not running in Waterloo region as of Monday morning.

Members of Unifor 4304, which represents Grand River Transit and Mobility Plus drivers, mechanics and service attendants, went on strike as of 12:01 a.m Monday. Bus service stopped at 3 a.m.

The ION LRT will continue to run because that service is maintained and operated by Keolis.

On Sunday, the Region of Waterloo said Sunday afternoon that they had reached a tentative agreement with the union.

Roughly 740 Grand River Transit and Mobility Plus drivers, mechanics and service attendants voted on a tentative agreement Sunday.

Voting took place over three meetings on Sunday, but members began preparing to begin strike action at midnight after rejecting the tentative agreement, according to the union.

"It's clear the employer has not met the expectations of transit workers," Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a release Sunday.

"Local 4304 members provide key services for the region and expect wages and benefits to keep pace with economic growth."

Brendan Burke, president of Unifor Local 4304, said the two biggest issues are "scheduling work-life balance and wages."

"Not having layover time ... not having enough time [for operators] to go to the washroom, those are some of the scheduling issues that we face," Burke told CBC News on Monday, adding drivers also don't get paid until they reach their first stop of the day.

Burke would not go into detail about how much of a wage increase the union is asking for workers.

The region said they were not able to reach an agreement with UNIFOR Local 4304, "despite an offer that was competitive for GRT staff and affordable for residents."

"The region is committed to reaching an agreement and we remain open to discussions with the union."

Burke said no bargaining meetings with the region are currently scheduled.

Finding alternate transportation

GRT said transit riders should plan ahead and find alternative transportation options as a result of the strike, the service says.

Kamal Nand frequently uses GRT to get to school and work and said he only learned about the strike Sunday.  

"My schedule was planned already and when I got to know [about the strike] yesterday I had to change my plans," he told CBC News.

Nand said that as a student, he struggled to get work in the past. Now that he has a job, he said he will need to rely other modes of transportation to get there.

"I can't give any excuse, so I'll have to find a cab and that's really costly for me," he said.

Resurrection Catholic Secondary School student Josephina Sma held her EasyGo fare card in her hand as she tried to peak in the Grand River Transit customer service centre at the corner of King Street and Benton Street on Monday morning.

"I usually would be taking the bus to school, but I didn't even know they were on strike," she told CBC News.

She said she will have to walk 30 minutes to get to school now.

The Waterloo Region District School Board said in a release the strike has already impacted students who rely on public transit to get to and from school. 

"We encourage any affected students to try to find alternate means of transportation to school but those who are unable to attend will not be penalized," the board said. 

"Students who miss school due to the GRT strike will be marked absent for safety reasons, but the absence(s) will not count toward their report card."

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board said most of its students ride yellow school buses and only a small number of students are impacted by the strike.

A spokesperson for the board said that for people accessing programming at St. Louis Adult Learning and Continuing Education, staff there are "working on contingency plans to ensure no students are penalized due to the strike."