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“We are prepared to be patient. If it takes four, four, six, nine months then that is what we we will do…we will continue to fight until we get a fair contract.”

Bus service will likely be hit with trip cancellations. McGarrigle said he heard that five buses has already been pulled out of service. The busing situation is expected to worsen through next week as bus mechanics, who are refusing to work overtime, fall behind on maintenance and repairs.

Contract negotiations between the union and Coast Mountain Bus Company broke off on Thursday, prompting job action that began at 8 a.m. Friday.

The union started with what it described as “a measured level of strike action,” which involves transit operators refusing to wear uniforms and an overtime ban by the company’s technicians and other skilled-trades workers.

The immediate impact of the strike was a smattering of bus trip cancellations on Friday morning that affected routes from Vancouver to Langley. More trips were expected to be cancelled throughout the day.

Coast Mountain Bus Company president Mike McDaniel said the company had about 1,300 buses on the road on Friday, and 150 spare buses scattered throughout its six depots that could be brought into service if needed.

“We’re ready for service disruptions. However, once we get past those 150 buses that are spares, we will see some service disruptions on the road,” said McDaniel.

Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG

SeaBus took a bigger hit, with 14 sailings cancelled during the afternoon rush on Friday. This summer, TransLink added a third vessel, which had been used as a spare, into the rotation to provide more service during peak periods. This is the boat that was taken out of service, which meant that instead of 10-minute intervals between boats, it was back to the 15-minute intervals of a few months ago.