news // no. 4 Transit employees set to hold strike vote on October 10 » Workers strike for better wages, benefits, and better working conditions Car2Gone » Car-sharing company leaves Calgary in its rear-view; is Vancouver next? Atiba Nelson Staff Reporter Emma Livingstone CUP (The Ubyssey) Te union employees will hold a strike vote this Thursday — a decision that, if passed, could have major impacts on students who commute to campus. Talks between Unifor, the union that represents 5,000 transit workers across the Lower Mainland including bus drivers and Seabus operators, and Coast Mountain Bus Company, a TransLink subsidiary, broke off on October 3. The vote on whether to strike will be held on Thursday, October 10. Unifor is scheduled to resume negotiations with Coast Mountain in mid-October following the vote where further decisions on the next steps will be made. “Over the past several weeks, Coast Mountain Bus Company and Unifor Locals 11 and 2200 have been working hard to renew their Collective Agreement. The parties have stepped away from the bargaining table to determine their next steps,” said TransLink in a written statement to The Ubyssey. “We don’t anticipate any disruption to service at this time. Coast Mountain Bus Company remains committed to reaching an acceptable negotiated settlement.” Some key negotiation issues include wages, benefits and working conditions, specifically break hours and recovery times for drivers in between trips. “Months of talks have failed to produce any meaningful mandate to address wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias in a media release. “Our members have been working without a contract since March 31 and Coast Mountain has still to come to the table with an offer that addresses the key issues.” The last time transit workers went on strike was in 2001. The strike lasted for nearly four months and was resolved when the provincial government stepped in to force the striking employees back to work. UBC students, staff and faculty commuting to campus in 2001 were left with few options, and many resorted to carpooling, biking or walking. According to Matthew Ramsey, UBC media relations’ director of university affairs, the university is keeping tabs on the situation to update students, staff and faculty on potential transit disruptions. theotherpress.ca But due to “financial, logistical and labour considerations,’ UBC will be unable to provide alternate transportation and encourages those who could be affected to carpool or cycle to campus. “UBC is aware of transit contract negotiations underway. We know many in our community rely on public transit to get to and from the Vancouver campus and we appreciate a potential service disruption is of concern,’ reads the written statement to The Ubyssey. “We'll be monitoring this situation and will keep students, faculty and staff updated if there is a service disruption that affects transit to campus.’ Transit usage experienced record ridership in 2018 which has led to frequent bus overcrowding. Four of the ten busiest bus routes from 2018 stop at UBC, according to data from TransLink. All parties are hopeful a deal will be reached soon. “Our members know that the public relies on them and it is our sincere hope that Coast Mountain comes back with a serious offer to avoid inconvenience to transit riders,” said Unifor Local 2200 President Mike Smith. A popular car-sharing service will be riving away from a major Canadian city on Halloween. Car2Go, in an email to their subscribers on September 27, announced that they would be leaving Calgary on October 31. Citing lack of supportive city policy, an economic downturn, and increased competition in the marketplace, the free- floating car-sharing service decided to cease operations within Canada’s fourth- most populous city. Car2Go started in Calgary in 2012, and assembled a fleet of approximately 600 cars to serve the Calgary metro area. The company’s initial foray into Calgary introduced their popular Smart fortwo cars to the market, and later the service contracted the Calgary “home area” where users could rent and leave cars. They then introduced Mercedes-Benz vehicles to their fleet in an effort to appease members. According to their website, Car2Go, which is owned by German automotive company Daimler AG, has one million North American users in 10 North American cities, but will cease operations in four of those cities—Austin, Calgary, Denver, and Portland—this year. With retraction in 40 percent of their North American market, what does the future hold for the service in Vancouver? The Other Press contacted Car2Go to inquire about the stability of operations in Vancouver, and the possibility of expansion into New Westminster and Coquitlam, since cars from another jurisdiction have become available. “There are no current plans on leaving the Vancouver market and we are committed to future growth in the market,’ said Tiffany Young, North American Communication Coordinator for Car2Go | SHARE NOW, in an email statement. Currently, Car2Go services Vancouver with a fleet of 1,200 cars ina smaller geographic area than Calgary. According to the service, their 200,000 Vancouver members have made more than 13 million trips since the 20u launch. The service is popular with drivers under 30, but due to the per-minute billing and convenience, unfortunately, Car2Go vehicles cannot be parked at either New Westminster or Coquitlam Douglas campuses. Young stated that “There are no current plans to adjust our operation area in Vancouver.” Meaning that Douglas students will have to wait for the day that Car2Go vehicles can be parked east of Boundary road. The greater Vancouver car-sharing market is grid-locked with Evo Car Share, Modo Co-operative, and ZipCar Incorporated—all are racing Car2Go for drivers’ dollars in the city. Also, with Uber and Lyft racing to service Metro Vancouver there will be more options to commute to class than ever before. Photo by Billy Bui