Bus Strike Negotiations Remain Stalled : OCTD Reports Ridership Gain to One-Third of Normal Number

No progress was reported Tuesday toward ending the bus drivers’ strike, but the Orange County Transit District on Monday posted its biggest one-day gain in ridership since the walkout began Dec. 8.

District officials said ridership increased to about one-third the normal number Monday--29,665 passengers, up from 25,677 Friday and 19,524 on Dec. 8.

Juliene Smith, general chairperson of Tustin-based United Transportation Union Local 19, said a state mediator attempted once again Tuesday to restart contract talks. “We’ve talked to him on the phone, but it doesn’t look like anything would be served by meeting at this point,” Smith said.

No negotiations have been held or scheduled between UTU, which represents the transit agency’s 732 drivers, and OCTD management since Saturday, when a state attempt to revive negotiations failed.

No Flood of Applications

Meanwhile, Transit District officials said there was no flood of job applications in response to Monday’s announcement by district directors that “permanent” replacements will be hired for drivers who do not return to work by Dec. 22.

District spokeswoman Joanne Curran said that telephoned job inquiries have doubled to 40 per hour since the strike began. The district’s “routine response” has been to ask callers to obtain copies of their Department of Motor Vehicles driving records and to complete application forms, a process that can take several weeks.

Curran said the district has “accelerated” its six-week training course to enable drivers to complete it in half the time. The accelerated course does not include some subjects, such as avoiding back pain while driving, learning the district’s entire route system, operating wheelchair lifts and learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The same 13 routes that the district operated on Tuesday were scheduled to resume this morning. The Transit District plans to increase the frequency of service rather than the number of routes if more drivers return to work. Twelve drivers crossed the UTU picket line Monday, but there was no increase Tuesday, according to district officials.

Request to Teamsters

Marlene Heyser, OCTD’s chief negotiator, revealed Tuesday that last week the district was forced to switch pickup and delivery locations for mechanics’ uniforms supplied by a uniform cleaning firm so that the firm’s drivers would not have to cross picket lines.

“It really wasn’t a problem” said Heyser. “We made other arrangements.”

Smith said Tuesday that she has asked the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents OCTD’s mechanics, to honor the picket lines. But officials of the Los Angeles-based Teamsters’ Joint Council 42 said members of Teamsters Local 952 in Orange County were preoccupied with election of officers Tuesday night and probably would not respond to Smith’s request until the balloting was over.

Joint Council President Michael Riley could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Several UTU members attended the regular meeting of the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday but did not speak. OCTD Board Chairman Ralph B. Clark, who also serves as Board of Supervisors chairman, was giving his final “state of the county” and farewell address, and the bus drivers said they did not want to disrupt the meeting.

Clark is retiring next month.

Times staff writer Ray Perez contributed to this story.