Halifax Transit’s third-wave woes
Routes have been limited this week because so many drivers are sick or self-isolating. This week, Halifax Transit buses have been operating at less-than-optimal intervals. Between 20 and 40 routes have had at least one cancelled trip on any given day, some routes more than once. The reason? Transit operators are sick with COVID-19 and isolating due to possible exposure. “I have four positive bus operators right now,” says Ken Wilson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508. For exposures, the number is somewhere between 40 and 50, but it fluctuates so frequently Wilson can’t keep up. “Because once someone get a negative test, if they weren’t a close contact they can come back to work,” he says. “So the numbers fluctuate five or six here or there. I’ve got three operators today that got negative tests they usually go right back to work either this afternoon or tomorrow.”
Posted: May 05, 2021 8:54 PM AT | Last Updated: May 5
Ken Wilson, president of the union local representing Halifax Transit workers, says he d like to see the city take more precautions to keep drivers and passengers safe.(CBC)
The head of the union representing Halifax Transit workers is criticizing how the city is handling COVID-19 exposures on bus routes after a confirmed case involving a driver.
The driver tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, but the bus she was driving continued to be on the road hours later, said Ken Wilson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508. It went back out during rush hour without being deep cleaned, said Wilson. It was apparently a mistaken number and they grabbed the wrong bus.
S.I. politics: Dem pols make North Shore endorsement; Tannousis opposes eviction moratorium
Posted May 06, 2021
Here’s a look at what’s happening around Staten Island politics:
Assemblyman Charles Fall (center) announced his co-endorsement of two mayoral candidates, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams (left) and former Director of the federal Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan, on Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Advance file photo composite
ASSEMBLYMAN FALL MAKES MAYORAL PICKS
New York Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore) made his voice heard Friday in the crowded mayoral Democratic Primary race offering a co-endorsement to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and former Director of the federal Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan.
(Mark Hodgins/NEWS 95.7)
The president of the union representing transit workers said the lack of safety measures and restrictions on Halifax Transit vehicles is concerning to many employees.
Currently, Halifax Transit buses and ferries are operating without any restrictions except a mandatory mask policy.
“It still stands as full-service, no restrictions and it’s concerning,” Ken Wilson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508, told NEWS 95.7 s The Rick Howe Show. “It’s concerning for my members and it’s concerning for our passengers and our clients.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Nova Scotia last year, the transit union asked for safety measures such as reduced passenger capacity and rear-door boarding, which meant fares were waived.