As Saskatoon Transit workers walked a picket line at city hall on Monday during the second week of being locked out by the city, councillors were inside approving the spending of millions of dollars to purchase new buses.
The city is spending $4.6 million to buy 10 new buses. The new buses will replace some of the oldest buses in the city’s fleet, some of which are 20 years old and have 1.5 million kilometres on the odometer.
The buses will cost approximately $430,000 each and are scheduled to be on the road by spring 2015.
Bob Howe, the city’s director of transit, says he knows it will be challenging to regain ridership when the lockout is over, but he says these new buses are a step in the right direction.
“We're going to build our system to be even more reliable -- far more reliable -- and we hope to win back those customers who may have been seeking other modes of transportation,” Howe said.
In addition to the purchase approved Monday, the city previously announced the purchase of five new buses that are expected to arrive in the coming weeks. A dozen used buses purchased from the City of Calgary to help relieve a shortage are also in Saskatoon.
Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union local 615 were locked out by the city on Sept. 20 after last-minute negotiations failed to reach an agreement on pay as well as pension changes sought by the city. The city issued an invitation to return to the bargain table, but that was turned down by the union and no new negotiations have been scheduled.
The workers, who are in their 10th day of walking the picket line, are receiving the support of their nation union.
"I watched Saskatoon for a long time and it's a great little city its a booming city and the wage structure for that area is completely out of whack,” said Mike Mahar, the ATU’s Canadian council director.
“They will be well supported to take up the fight that is really everybody's fight.”
