Possible Job Action By Bus Drivers

[njhorseman]

There may be a "work to rule" job action by bus drivers. If it takes place, and when the union president says what he did you can be pretty sure it will, the job action will only further disrupt the already shaky bus service.  

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/labour/article/20190529/bus-drivers-may-work-to-rule

[zooma]

Thank you for the heads up. Interested in any further developments....

[Charles4515]

14 minutes ago, zooma said:

Thank you for the heads up. Interested in any further developments....

 

As of now the work to rule job action is tomorrow (Thursday) starting at 6:00 am. 

[Charles4515]

The job action did happen Thursday (May 30) and is on going. A bunch of bus runs were canceled. The government believes the dispute will be settled early next week. People this weekend and early next week might want to avoid the public buses altogether. This does affect the ferries. Unfortunately because of the action there could be the side affect of shortages of taxis and minibuses from people who had been planning to use public buses. 

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190531/range-of-bus-routes-cancelled

Edited June 1, 2019 by Charles4515

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

This does affect the ferries

Charles, did you mean to say "this does not affect the ferries" ? (Other than possibly causing overcrowding)

[Charles4515]

44 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Charles, did you mean to say "this does not affect the ferries" ? (Other than possibly causing overcrowding)

 

Oops. That is what I meant. It does not affect the ferries. Thanks for pointing out my typo. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

The job action continues. Many bus routes cancelled.

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190603/nearly-50-bus-routes-cancelled

[Birdnutty]

Is there a way of finding out which ones were cancelled?  We'll be there next week and had planned to rely on the bus system.  Or should we just forget about busses and make other plans?

[Charles4515]

43 minutes ago, Birdnutty said:

Is there a way of finding out which ones were cancelled?  We'll be there next week and had planned to rely on the bus system.  Or should we just forget about busses and make other plans?

 

If the work action continues there is no way to know what routes. They are working to rule which means an element of surprise is involved on purpose. Impacting the tourist season and the students going to school seems to be a big part of their actions. This is not the first time. The bus drivers are having a meeting tomorrow between 10:30 and 12:30, hopefully the work action will be over by next week. If anyone is there tomorrow reading this there will be no buses at all between 10:30 and 12:30. Even if the work action is over given the current state of the public bus system I would not rely on the bus system. I would have a back up plan. I made a last minute booking and will be in Bermuda next Wednesday and Thursday and my plans don’t include the public buses since what I plan to do can be done by other means of transportation which I prefer for what I would like to do anyway this short time there. I have another cruise there booked later this year. I hope the work action is over though because it might impact the other means of transportation that will have to take up the slack. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Charles4515

[Birdnutty]

I hope they are able to resolve the issues quickly and to everyone's satisfaction.  Looks like it will be other methods for us too if it's still going on.  How much are ferry tokens?  We love boats and it just seems like fun to travel around that way.

 

And do you know of any easily accessible nature areas that are not likely to be too crowded with tourists?  I am a birder and would love to take in some of whatever Bermuda has to offer.  I heard of some that were wonderful but really hard to get to without a private vehicle or walking somewhere dangerous. We avoid ship's tours like the plague, but don't have time to find a private guide.  Any suggestions?

[Charles4515]

8 hours ago, Birdnutty said:

I hope they are able to resolve the issues quickly and to everyone's satisfaction.  Looks like it will be other methods for us too if it's still going on.  How much are ferry tokens?  We love boats and it just seems like fun to travel around that way.

 

And do you know of any easily accessible nature areas that are not likely to be too crowded with tourists?  I am a birder and would love to take in some of whatever Bermuda has to offer.  I heard of some that were wonderful but really hard to get to without a private vehicle or walking somewhere dangerous. We avoid ship's tours like the plague, but don't have time to find a private guide.  Any suggestions?

 

Maybe it will be resolved at the meeting today. Ferry tokens are $4.50. 

 

My suggestions for  nature areas for birds are Spittal Pond and Cooper Island. There is a bus stop at the entrance. Cooper Island you would go to Clearwater Beach and walk from there. That is a little harder to get to but doable. There is also Tm Moore’s Jungle which is not too  hard to access. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Charles4515

[cruisingadget]

I just got back from Bermuda... when I bought my bus pass, they were warning everyone about the work to rule, and discouraging pass sales in case they couldn't give you what you paid for. 

 

Basically, all of the routes are running, but some individual busses are cancelled, so you might have to wait longer for a bus. 

I basicaly took lots of patience, planned a relaxing day, and everything webt fine. 

 

You can get a list of cancelled busses, updated twice a day, at https://www.gov.bm/bus-alerts

 

(That page is valid all the time, not just during this job action)

[Charles4515]

7 hours ago, cruisingadget said:

I just got back from Bermuda... when I bought my bus pass, they were warning everyone about the work to rule, and discouraging pass sales in case they couldn't give you what you paid for. 

 

Basically, all of the routes are running, but some individual busses are cancelled, so you might have to wait longer for a bus. 

I basicaly took lots of patience, planned a relaxing day, and everything webt fine. 

 

You can get a list of cancelled busses, updated twice a day, at https://www.gov.bm/bus-alerts

 

(That page is valid all the time, not just during this job action)

 

Thank you for the report back. 

 

The routes listed in the Royal Gazette for yesterday afternoon were a lot and on the major routes. Interesting that what the drivers want to end the work to rule is two air conditioned restrooms in St. George’s. 

 

“Chris Furbert, the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union, said earlier this week that a work-to-rule by bus operators would only be lifted if two portable air-conditioned restrooms were made available for staff in St George’s.”

 

http://mobile.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190607/afternoon-bus-cancellations&template=mobileart

Edited June 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[cruisingadget]

The key is that it isn't the entire route cancelled, just individual busses on that route. In other words, you can still get everywhere, it just might take longer. 

 

Staff was very friendly and helpful helping riders navigate the action, too. One driver called by radio to see if a certain bus that a rider wanted to transfer to was operating. It wasn't, but another one was operating just 15 minutes later. 

 

I conveniently did not take the bus on the day my ship was sailing, so I was in no hurry to get back. I would be extremely nervous taking the busses on departure day, when there are serious consequences to not making it back on time. 

 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, cruisingadget said:

The key is that it isn't the entire route cancelled, just individual busses on that route. In other words, you can still get everywhere, it just might take longer. 

 

Staff was very friendly and helpful helping riders navigate the action, too. One driver called by radio to see if a certain bus that a rider wanted to transfer to was operating. It wasn't, but another one was operating just 15 minutes later. 

 

I conveniently did not take the bus on the day my ship was sailing, so I was in no hurry to get back. I would be extremely nervous taking the busses on departure day, when there are serious consequences to not making it back on time. 

 

 

Nice that they are very friendly but I won’t be wasting any time taking the bus next week. We are on a short schedule arriving at 11:00 am and leaving the next day at 5:00 pm. Thankfully there are alternatives for taking a bus for my plans. 

 

I have always found work to rule actions interesting because that implies that in normal operation they are violating the rules.

Edited June 8, 2019 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

The work to rule job action by bus drivers has ended. 

 

http://bernews.com/2019/06/dpt-resumes-full-bus-services-as-work-to-rule-ends/