OCTD Will Shut Down Service Sunday to Give Fill-In Drivers a Rest

On the fourth day of the Orange County bus strike, Transit District officials announced Thursday that they will shut down all service Sunday to give the management personnel and driver trainees who have kept the buses rolling a day of rest.

Since the strike began Monday, 55 buses have been running on 12 of the Orange County Transit District’s 53 routes. Joanne Curran, Transit District spokeswoman, said that schedule was to continue today and Saturday.

On a normal Sunday, she said, the district runs only about half as many buses as it does the rest of the week, and because of the strike, the district decided to call off Sunday service this week “to give the drivers who are driving out there a rest. . . . They’re working six days (this week).”

Dial-a-ride buses, which are not affected by the strike, will operate as usual during the weekend, Curran said.

If the strike persists, she said, district officials hope to restore partial Sunday service next week. She said officials expect some striking drivers to cross the picket lines and return to work rather than pursue a lengthy strike.

Juliene Smith, general chairman of the striking United Transportation Union Local 19, said the decision to call off Sunday service made good sense for safety reasons.

“The people who are working are working six days in a row,” Smith said. “They’re already in violation of the law. The law provides that the driver can only actually drive 10 hours a day in the seat and be on duty 16 hours a day. Now, if someone wanted to check out the trip sheets of people who are working, you’ll see that they’re working in excess of 10 hours a day.”

Curran, however, denied any violation of law. “No, that’s not true,” she said. “There is no driver driving more than the law allows.”

Earlier Thursday, Smith had said that an incident in which a bus operated by a temporary driver struck a pedestrian at the Transit District’s Santa Ana terminal was evidence that management personnel and trainees are unqualified to serve as bus drivers during the strike.

“We are professional drivers,” Smith said. “We don’t have those kinds of accidents. We are going to have big problems if those people keep driving the buses.”

The incident to which she referred occurred Wednesday evening, when pedestrian Sam Zamora, 44, of Placentia was struck by a bus driven by a maintenance supervisor as it was being driven into the Santa Ana Transit Terminal.

After X-rays, Zamora was released from Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. The driver, Brent Sumrall, was not cited and was allowed to continue his shift.

Smith said union drivers involved in similar incidents are immediately pulled from their buses and given drug tests.

“Is management exempt from the policy because they are management?” she asked.

But Curran said that because of “special circumstances” Sumrall was not given a drug test and was allowed to continue on his route.

“There was no backup driver,” she said. “It was a judgment call made on the premises.”

Smith also said Thursday that some trainees driving bus routes had received only a few days of training. She said trainees normally are required to undergo six weeks of instruction.

“That is completely untrue,” Curran responded. “All of our trainees have gone through the necessary instruction. They are as well trained and qualified as any driver (on strike).”

Although an unnamed state mediator has been assigned to discuss the issues with both sides, no meeting is yet planned. Curran said the two sides could begin negotiations as early as today, but Smith said it would probably be early next week before they meet.

The strike is putting a damper on Christmas for some drivers. View, Part V-BR, Page 1.