Fraser Valley transit strike continues one month after job action

The transit strike affecting commuters in the Fraser Valley has no end in sight after drivers and maintenance workers walked off the job March 20.

The strike has significantly impacted bus services across the region, with many having to turn to alternative modes of transportation to get around.

City councils in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Mission are now asking for a mediator to step in to try and find some common ground between employer First Transit and CUPE Local 561 members.

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In an update on Tuesday, BC Transit says it’s closely monitoring the strike situation and is apologizing for the inconvenience.

“We understand the frustration felt by customers, and that the job action is difficult for everyone involved in the region,” adding that its drivers are employees of First Transit, not BC Transit itself.

While handyDART services have continued for people requiring essential transportation in the region for renal dialysis, cancer treatment, and multiple sclerosis appointments, CityNews has heard from residents who are unable to take handyDART to get to their medical appointments.

As a transit strike in the Fraser Valley continues, an Abbotsford woman says the handyDART service disruption is having a big impact. (Photo courtesy TransLink)

Linda says her husband doesn’t fall into any of those categories.

“My husband … last year, December, had an intracerebral brain hemorrhage and almost died. And then in July, he had to go get an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) removed, which caused another intracerebral brain hemorrhage and he had to go in for life-saving brain surgery,” Linda told CityNews.

“He relies on the service to get up to the hospital for his OT (occupational therapist) and to his neurologists and things like that, and because he has brain damage, and the operation has also left him basically blind … the service is definitely needed.”

BC Transit told CityNews in March that the BC Labour Relations Board deemed the three medical-related conditions — cancer, multiple sclerosis, and renal dialysis — as essential.