OC Transpo buses running to Gatineau, Que. as strike disrupts STO service

There was no bus service in Gatineau on Monday after unionized supervisors and trainers walked off the job. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

OC Transpo buses will continue running routes into Gatineau, Que. as a strike shuts down public transit in the western Quebec city.

The Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) announced Sunday service will be suspended starting Monday morning as Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1557 begins strike action. Only paratransit and on-demand transport services will continue to run.

The strike by 50 supervisors and trainers means there will be no STO buses running between Ottawa and Gatineau.

The strike caused some frustrations for commuters Monday morning.

“It added a lot of stress and it added a good 25-30 minutes to my commute,” said Kiera Caulfeild, who commutes into Gatineau from Ottawa. " I usually take the OC Transpo bus followed by the STO to cross over into the Gatineau side and today I had to take the bus followed by the train, followed by walking over the bridge."

“Even just this morning, the buses at Tunney’s weren’t that reliable so I had to take the train farther in, crossing my fingers I get to Gatineau on time,” said Amélia Sawyer Masse.

Martin Lacayo and his wife use STO to get to their work.

“Now I have to take Uber. I have to pay $30 just to go and $30 to come back,” he said.

The ATU Local 1557 announced just before midnight that approximately 50 mechanic supervisors and trainers are on strike, noting they have been without a contract since 2023. The union said negotiations failed “because STO failed to present a reasonable offer that addresses the key issues.”

“Our ATU bargaining team has been negotiating in good faith, but the employer (STO) is attempting to remove long-standing protections in the collective agreement that safeguard our members’ jobs,” Olivier Lachance, President of ATU Local 1557, said in a statement.

“STO has continuously delayed and stalled negotiations and has failed to present a fair offer that our members will accept. These transit workers have been without a contract since 2023, almost three years. They deserve to earn a living wage that is fair and equitable with the wages at other transit properties. Currently, they earn significantly less than their counterparts elsewhere.”

The head of the Amalgamated Transit Union says the union wants its members to have their pay “back up to speed” with counterparts.

“We’ve been in contact with the federal mediator hoping to get STO back to the bargaining table and look for a resolution to this ongoing contract negotiation,” said John Di Nino, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada. “This group is lagging way behind in terms of fair market pricing and we want to bring our people back up to speed.”

The STO recommends passengers make “alternative transportation arrangements.”

On Sunday, the STO proposed to the Amalgamated Transit Union that the dispute be resolved through arbitration.

“Still awaiting a positive response from the union regarding the STO’s arbitration proposal and given the continuation of the strike notice, we confirm the complete suspension of bus service starting Monday, October 20,” the STO said Monday morning.

OC Transpo

OC Transpo says if you connect to an STO route at Lyon, Parliament or Mackenzie King Station, you will need to go to Pimisi Station to connect with an OC Transpo bus that runs to Gatineau.

Bus routes 8 and 13 will provide service from Pimisi Station to the Hull sector, with destinations including Place du Portage, Terrasses de la Chaudière and the Canadian Museum of History.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katie Griffin