Strike ends, MTS bus routes to resume normal service

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — Bus routes that were temporarily stunted due to a unionized drivers’ strike against their employer, First Transit are expected to resume as normal Friday.  

The strike began last Tuesday after contract negotiations came to a halt, but Thursday, drivers of certain Metropolitan Transit System bus routes in San Diego approved an agreement with First Transit. MTS bus drivers from Local teamsters 542 are expected to return to work Friday.

First Transit provides drivers for the MTS Access paratransit service and 18 of the agency’s 95 bus routes.   

Nick Promponas, senior vice president of the company, said negotiators for the two sides worked through Wednesday night and Thursday morning to reach the deal that drivers ratified later in the day.

Disrupted MTS Access service and bus routes included 18, 83, 84, 870,
944, 945A, 972, 973, 978 and 979. Routes 14, 25, 88, 833, 851, 945, 964 and 965. The routes operated with limited service over the past week.

MTS Access drivers provide 1,900 daily curb-to-curb trips that get people to hospitals, doctor appointments and regional care centers. The bus routes are generally served by mini-buses and carry around 4,300 passengers a day.

Major bus routes and the trolley were not affected by the work stoppage, according to MTS. However, Access paratransit in the North County was halted due to the strike, as was the Sorrento Valley Coaster Connection bus shuttle service, according to the North County Transit District.