There are already reports of bus riders losing shifts, money and even their jobs, as the Fraser Valley transit strike carries on.

CUPE 561 workers went on a full strike on March 20 as they push for a better contract with their employer, First Transit. They鈥檝e been active on social media, where they are urging transit users to send them their support via a pledge form.

With that support, they鈥檙e also hearing from those who have been severely affected by the lack of services.

The union says it has heard from people who live on disability and rely heavily on public transit, people who can鈥檛 get to their jobs or have lost their jobs鈥攐r who have accumulated high taxi and Uber bills to keep them.

There are also those who have missed doctor鈥檚 appointments, or university exams. Taxi rides in some cases cost more than $100 one way for these students, the union reports. Walking and carpooling aren鈥檛 always possible, either.

In a press release sent out Monday, the union says that 鈥減ublic support has been strong from the beginning鈥� but that these disruptions to people鈥檚 daily lives may not be heard by First Transit, or BC Transit, which contracts the Fraser Valley bus systems out to First Transit. The affected communities are Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs and Hope.

And the workers themselves are also transit users, the union added.

鈥淥ur members are residents of the Fraser Valley, too, and many of them also rely on transit to get around their community, so it pains them to hear what their neighbours are going through,鈥� said CUPE 561 President Jane Gibbons. 鈥淯nfortunately, our efforts to share these concerns with BC Transit, which contracts the service to First Transit, have gone unanswered.鈥�

Riders are reaching out to them to give all sorts of suggestions.

鈥淥ne student even begged us to make an exception and resume the bus line to UFV. I really wish job action could work that way, but unfortunately it doesn鈥檛,鈥� said Gibbons. 鈥淥ur members did not want to go on strike 鈥� they were left with no choice. They need and deserve to be able to work under the same wages and conditions that other transit workers do, and with a pension, so they can provide better service to Fraser Valley residents. That鈥檚 why we are asking the public to contact BC Transit directly: by sending them a letter from , and sharing these same personal stories about the strike鈥檚 impact, transit users can help us finally get through to BC Transit, to try to end this strike.鈥�

First Transit has said throughout the strike that they believe the current offer on the table is a good one.

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