SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — South Bay riders are breathing a sigh of relief.
"I'm so happy right now, thank god," said Gabby Chieres, a bus rider.
After 34 days of public transit delays and cancellations.
"At the beginning it was hard because we didn't know about it. Most of us were late to work and we'd have to call, probably like an hour or two," Chieres said.
On Sunday, 300 bus drivers ended their month-long strike after reaching a contract agreement with their employer, Transdev. Transdev agreed to offer better facilities like bathrooms, better pay when drivers are called in, and a pension increase. Transdev also says it has given drivers the one million dollar incentive from MTS to end the strike.
"It's good, a lot of people depend on the bus to go to work, shop, and everything else," said Ken Mckee, a bus rider. "So I'm glad for their sake that things have come to some kind of a resolution."
MTS says most buses are fully operational, but anyone with a disability ordering a bus stop at their home might still see cancelations.
"I'm stuck at home, anywhere I need to go, I go on my wheelchair," said Carol, a paratransit bus rider.
Carol uses an electric scooter and a ventilator to get around, but they don't get her very far.
"I can't go grocery shopping, can't go to the drug store, can't get medications," Carol said.
MTS has canceled her last three requests for paratransit pick-up at her home. Carol says she had to take her scooter to the nearest bus stop to get to her dog's veterinary appointment on time.
"That was about half a mile from my house. My dog, he's in pain right now, so it's hard for him to walk."
The paratransit bus driver union is still on strike. As a result, MTS says they could only respond to 60% of those requests last week. It's unclear when they'll return to normal.
Transdev did not confirm where they're at with negotiations for paratransit workers. Transdev did send a statement regarding the end of the worker strike saying in part: "Although the union made bargaining proposals outside of the industry standards and norms, Transdev worked diligently to achieve a deal and pleased to have come to a resolution
