Transit users say they've been 'forgotten'

The Metro Transit strike has gone on five weeks now, and some people in Halifax Regional Municipality who rely on the service say they've been forgotten.

More than 700 Metro Transit employees walked off the job Feb. 2, leaving tens of thousands of people without bus or ferry service.

Many peoplethat use or work for an Agricola Street daycare are having a hard time without public transit, according to one employee.

"I basically have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning in order to get here for seven in the morning to open the daycare," said Angie Naugle, who walks every day from her Dartmouth home.

She said she's adjusting; however the families who rely on the daycare are not.

"We have kids that their families take the bus to go to the food bank.They're not within walking distance of the food bank or the grocery store and they can't afford to take cabs and get to the food bank and they have children at home that are starving," Naugle said.

Citydivided

She said she believes the strike is having a dangerous effect not just on the daycare, but the entire cityseparating it into two classesthose who don't miss the service at alland those whose liveshave beenturned upside down without it.

"The people that use the bus,just because you may be low-income doesn't meant that you're low-class," she said."I feel that what's happening here is almost a form of class injustice."

Meanwhile, Travis Smith said he used to take the #1 Spring Garden bus to get to work, but on Thursday he decided to hold his own protest.

"It doesn't seem like there's too many people that are actually protesting. They are saying that they want the buses back, but nobody seems to be wanting to do anything about it," said Smith.

He said both sides of the strike seem to be fighting against each other, but nothing seems to be improving.

"I have a friend who has had to live at other people's houses because she could not get to school and she's really upset about that."

The Ecology Action Centre will be providing rides those in need Friday as a one-day symbolic gesture, it said.

"By providing 12 hours of free rides, we hope to remind council that there are thousands of people not receiving the vital service that we depend on and pay for, Mark Butler, spokesman for the centre, said in a news release.

"We arent taking a side, we just want our buses and ferries back."

The city announced earlier this week that anyone with a Metro Transit pass for the month of February can now apply for a refund in the form of a cheque.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508 and HRM have agreed to head back to the bargaining table Friday at 9:30 a.m.