L.A. Transit Strike Continues

L O S   A N G E L E S, Sept. 19 -- At rush hour, Lisa Smith is usually behindthe wheel of a city bus, not picketing on a Pasadena Freewayoverpass.

But a strike by bus drivers that has idled 2,000 buses, rail andsubway lines in a 1,400-square-mile area has left few thingsuntouched in Los Angeles County.

“These people should be on the buses,” said Smith, pointing tothe freeway traffic mess below. “People who rely on buses needbuses. We do care about the people. This is as stressful a time forus as it is for our passengers.”

Bus drivers and county transit managers agreed to meet todayon the fourth day of a walkout that has forced nearly half amillion commuters to search for new transportation.

The United Transportation Union, which represents 4,300 bus andrail operators, will have representatives at the meeting, but isnot ready to resume contract talks, said spokesman Goldy Norton.Transit managers said they were ready to negotiate.

Scrounging for Rides

As the walkout moved into its first work day on Monday, hundredsof thousands of regular rail and bus riders scrounged for rides orgot behind the wheel themselves, further clogging Los Angeles’already crowded roadways.

Freeway traffic volume rose 5 percent during the morning commuteon Monday, adding about 30 minutes to the drive, the CaliforniaHighway Patrol reported.

“It is a substantial amount, but it didn’t result in a majorheadache like we thought,” CHP Officer Bill Preciado said.

It was a different story on surface streets, where cars snakedbumper-to-bumper through downtown with workers complaining thatcommute times had doubled.

MetroLink commuter trains, which aren’t part of the strike bythe Metropolitan Transportation Authority system, arrived onschedule at downtown’s Union Station.

Most commuters, some of whom carried bicycles on the trains,scattered on foot and bike or waited to catch connecting rides withco-workers in cars.