Viva Talks To Resume This Week, End Of Adult Tickets For TTC
Posted September 29, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s Day Five of a major strike in York Region that’s stranded thousands of people.
Viva, the bus service in the region, has been out picketing since Thursday. More than 160 drivers voted 61 per cent against a tentative agreement that day, after assurances from union head Bob Kinnear that a strike was very unlikely.
The Amalgamated Transit Union and the company that operates Viva, Veolia Transportation, forged the deal the previous weekend.
Negotiations had been going on for months and the key issues included wages, sick leave and scheduling.
It’s affected about 35,000 riders who can’t get to work, school, or anywhere else they may need to go.
Negotiations have completely broken down and neither side is talking, but some good news came Monday with word talks will resume Wednesday with a provincial mediator present.
“I did communicate [Monday] morning with the general manager of Viva,” Kinnear confirmed.
“We’ve been in touch with the mediator, or I have been in touch with the mediator, and we’re trying to set up a meeting for either [Tuesday] or Wednesday,” he added.
Don Gordon, York Regional Transit General Manager, had been pushing both sides to continue negotiations.
“We’re trying to influence the two parties and encourage them to get back to the table as early as possible,” Gordon outlined.
“Above and beyond that, we have a situation on Yonge Street that frankly is not tolerable in terms of the loads that we’re attempting to carry.”
Other transit buses in the area remain in service.
Meanwhile, Sunday was the last day to use your adult tickets on the TTC. It’s believed the easy-to-fake papers cost the commission anywhere from $3 million to $4 million a year in lost sales.
Student, Senior and Child tickets are still in use and will continue to be sold and accepted.
Still have some lying around? You can exchange them for tokens at two locations:
Bloor – Yonge Subway Station
Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Metropass Discount Plan (MDP) Office
1900 Yonge Street (Davisville Station-street level)
Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Note: Exchanges of 50 or more adult tickets must be done at the MDP Office.
Commuters In York Region Struggle To Deal With VIVA Bus Strike
For more information, contact York Transit at 1-866-668-3978.
