Fraser Valley bus strike tough on HandyDART users

Chilliwack, B.C. -

Getting around can be painful for 74-year-old Sarah Pringle.

“I have a degenerative back and through age and that, I have trouble walking,” the Chilliwack senior explained.

She doesn’t drive, and over the years, Pringle has become dependant on HandyDART to get around.

“I use the HandyDART for just about everything,” she explained.

That is, until a labour dispute between First Transit, contracted by BC Transit, and the bus drivers and other transit workers who are part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“I phoned HandyDART and I asked to confirm my (specialist) appointment for the Thursday and that’s when they said they’re on strike. And I said, ‘I thought you guys were on essential services,’” Pringle said.

She soon learned that during the strike, HandyDART is only available for riders needing to attend dialysis or treatments for cancer or multiple sclerosis.

“We don’t feel good,” said Jane Gibbons, president of CUPE 561, explaining that drivers don’t want service to be reduced and know it’s hard on passengers.

“Our HandyDART drivers know who our passengers are. They know the people that they’re driving every day,” she added, estimating more than 1,000 people would be impacted by the loss of service.

Pringle thinks HandyDART should be available to anyone needing to get to a doctor’s appointment.

“BC Transit understands the frustration felt by customers, and the impact the current job action in the Fraser Valley is having on everyone involved,” BC Transit said in a statement.

“Service levels for handyDART in the Fraser Valley during this service suspension were determined by the Labour Relations Board. Requests for further details should be directed to the Board.”

A First Transit spokesperson said in an email that if a client “feels they should qualify to receive essential service, but cannot, (it) would ask they get in touch with their local HandyDART contact.”

Tuesday marked 16 days since the strike began.

“The main sticking points are wages, pension – or lack of a pension – and working conditions,” said Gibbons.

No negotiations are currently scheduled. First Transit said it remains “willing to resume negotiations on a settlement that will work for all stakeholders in the system.”

Gibbons said workers will stay off the job until they are “treated fairly.”

She said HandyDART riders can use TaxiSavers “that will help them a little bit, and maybe they can go two people at a time to save money."

"We know it’s not the best, but it’s what we had to do," Gibbons said.

Meanwhile, Pringle thinks the drivers deserve a better wage.

And she hopes they get it soon so people like herself can get around again.