Bus Strike Settlement Reached: Regular Schedules Begin Friday Morning

With the two sides of the Phoenix bus strike settling their labor dispute, bus riders in the Valley should see buses back on a regular schedule as of Friday morning, March 16, 2012. The first buses are anticipated to leave the bus yards between 3:30 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. to get to the beginning of their assigned routes.

By the peak of the rush hour, around 6:30 a.m., 337 buses are typically deployed by all Phoenix contractors, including First Transit and MV Transportation, with Veolia bus operators driving 228 of the vehicles on the street.

The Amalgamated Transit Union local 1433, representing almost 600 bus operators, and Veolia Transportation Services, who is contracted by the city of Phoenix to manage its bus service, came to an agreement.

Together, Phoenix contractors operate 46 of the 101 Valley Metro bus routes in the regional transit system.

With the Tempe bus strike on-going, eight of the Valley Metro bus routes (four local and four commuter) that bring people into Phoenix may not be in full service or running at all. Those drivers will take a vote on March 16.

The six day strike by Veolia/Phoenix bus operators affected 31 of the 101 Valley Metro routes in the regional transit system. Veolia/Tempe operates an additional 19 routes.

Passengers can go on-line to ValleyMetro.org, use the printed Transit Book, or call Valley Metro customer service for information on bus routes.

Glendale will continue to provide the utmost customer service with its in-house transit services, including its neighborhood circulator, the Gus Bus and Dial-a-Ride. For more information on Glendale Transit services, visit www.glendaleaz.com/transit or call 623-930-3500.