By the time the sun rises and businesses open for the day, downtown is awake with a rush of commuters clad in winter gear who disembark from buses along Douglas Street and scatter throughout the core.

B.C. Transit logs a weekday average of 95,000 trips within Greater Victoria and unless a sudden breakthrough is made in a broken down bargaining process between the Crown corporation and the union representing 650 of its employees, these are the people who will be left in the cold. The Canadian Auto Workers Union, local 333 is planning to keep the buses parked for 24-hours during a walkout this Tuesday (Jan. 22), a move that will be felt across the region, from Sooke to Sidney.

Annette Speirs strides towards the law firm where she works and happily slows her pace to speak up on behalf of her fellow Sidney commuters. SheB次元官网网址檒l drive herself to work on Tuesday in the event of a strike, but laments the inconvenience and uncertainty caused by the the current no-overtime job action. Not everyone in her group of eight who travel from Sidney to Victoria has the option to drive, she says.

B次元官网网址淲e all have to contact each other and make some kind of other arrangements,B次元官网网址� Speirs says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a big hassle. The 70 route is really difficult because sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 standing room only. Not knowing whatB次元官网网址檚 going to happen from one day to the next is very hard.B次元官网网址�

Provincial government worker Charmaine Partington buses into work downtown every day from Colwood to save money on parking, avoid driving in rush hour traffic and do her part to preserve the environment. She catches the bus from the park and ride at West Shore Parks and Recreation, a normally convenient and easy way to get to work, Partington says. A regular rider since 2008, sheB次元官网网址檚 lived through the stress of previous transit strikes, and despite her advance efforts, isnB次元官网网址檛 sure just how sheB次元官网网址檒l get to work that day. Partington has secured a carpool ride home at the end of the day but is still looking for a way in.

B次元官网网址淚 try to avoid driving at all costs, plus itB次元官网网址檚 going to be really busy. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to take a lot longer for everybody to get into work,B次元官网网址� she says.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 like that it affects me, and some other people IB次元官网网址檝e talked to said they think it should be an essential service. But I look at it as a convenience, an alternative.B次元官网网址�

Not every early-morning traveller is en route to work. Reid Taylor travels downtown daily from Esquimalt to B次元官网网址渆njoy the day and window shop.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址�(I) just come to wander around and see the sights,B次元官网网址� Taylor says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 a senior now.B次元官网网址�

Previously unaware of upcoming strike action, he says itB次元官网网址檚 very frustrating, as he relies on transit heavily.

B次元官网网址淚 guess IB次元官网网址檒l have to walk into town.B次元官网网址�

Manjol Singh speaks for many students who use the service. The downtown resident stands on Fort Street at Douglas and waits for the No. 21B次元官网网址� his ride to Camosun CollegeB次元官网网址檚 Interurban campus in West Saanich. If a bus strike goes ahead, Singh will be reluctantly taking the day off.

B次元官网网址淚t affects me a lot, because the bus system is for students like me,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚f there is a strike, then I have to miss college. If youB次元官网网址檙e having an exam or any important lectures, then itB次元官网网址檚 frustrating.B次元官网网址�

Patrick Vert, a government employee who lives in Saanich, within walking distance of Uptown, has been able to catch any bus down Douglas Street throughout the limited job action B次元官网网址� but heB次元官网网址檚 ready for the strike.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l probably end up having to haul out my bike, so itB次元官网网址檚 a good thing IB次元官网网址檝e been hitting the gym,B次元官网网址� Vert says, adding that thereB次元官网网址檚 a divide among his colleagues who enjoy the bike commute and those who donB次元官网网址檛.

Paula Grant and Melinda Minkley walk briskly southbound on Douglas Street, hot beverages in hand. Grant will get a ride in from Oak Bay or drive herself if need be on Tuesday, while her travel counterpart has considered the luxury most other morning commuters donB次元官网网址檛 have: she might walk the five kilometres from her Oak Bay home to downtown.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e the lucky ones,B次元官网网址� Grant says.

Perhaps the only truly lucky players in transportation are the taxi companies, likely to receive at least a few extra calls when buses halt.

Surinder Kang, operations manager at Yellow Cab has experienced a slow start to the year and welcomes any spike in business this Tuesday as a result of the strike, though he isnB次元官网网址檛 expecting, or preparing, for the massive influx of calls BlueBird CabsB次元官网网址� expects to come their way.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e excited,B次元官网网址� says Shelley Evans, supervisor of dispatch for BlueBird. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e happy to get peopleB次元官网网址檚 business, but not necessarily in that way.B次元官网网址�

Evans is treating Tuesday like a snow day, she says, with all possible staff scheduled and expectations high. She advises travellers to call early B次元官网网址� especially for those on the outskirts.

Victoria Car Share might be garnering a little more attention due to the transit tumult. The co-op manages a fleet of 23 vehicles available for low-cost rental by some-500 members across Greater Victoria and has seen more new members join in January than any month to date since the co-op began in 1996, with 25 signing up in the first two weeks of the month.

Reasons behind the membership boost, explains Andrew MacDonald, executive director of  the co-op, might be due to new yearB次元官网网址檚 resolutions to cut vehicle costs or the new storefront location on Fort Street, but likely have at least a little to do with the ongoing transit job action and threat of shutdown. Bookings for Tuesday are already above average, he says, though members generally donB次元官网网址檛 replace bus ridership with Car Share use.

B次元官网网址淲e make sure that our cars are close to bus routes because itB次元官网网址檚 a part of their transportation puzzle,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e biking; theyB次元官网网址檙e bussing; theyB次元官网网址檙e walking.B次元官网网址�

Car Share staff are all transit riders, too, MacDonald says.

B次元官网网址淥bviously a good transportation network is important to a city like Victoria.B次元官网网址�

The last transit strike in 2001 lasted two weeks before it was resolved at the bargaining table. Previous to that, a strike in 1984 lasted three months before the province legislated an end to the dispute.

HandyDART and the Victoria to Cowichan commuter service will continue as scheduled on Jan. 22.