Phoenix's public buses will keep rolling Wednesday as plans for a drivers' strike remain on hold.
Negotiators for city contractor Transdev and the union went back and forth all Tuesday afternoon. The contract being crafted affects 650 bus drivers on 34 routes. They carry 78,000 passengers daily.
An Amalgamated Transit Union representative said both sides are as close as they've been in the process, but they have some strange sticking points.
The company designates bathroom locations along routes, but the union said some drivers wear diapers because there's no convenient place to go.
“Operators don't really have time to go to the bathroom,” Local 1433 spokesman Michael Cornelius said. “The company cuts the run to only have a few minutes on one end and a few minutes on the other end.”
Other issues still on the table include the use of email for employee issues and retirement benefits.
Negotiations will resume Wednesday. ABC15 will keep you updated on the outcome. Click here for more information on service interruptions.
See map below of routes that could be affected:
Transdev-operated routes: 0-Central Ave.; 1-Washington/Jefferson; 7-7th Street; 8-7th Ave.; 10-Roosevelt/32nd Street; 12-12th Street; 15-15th Ave.; 16-16th Street; 19-19th Ave.; 27-27th Ave.; 28-Lower Buckeye; 35-35th Ave.; 39-40th Street North Phoenix; 44-44th St/Tatum; 50-Camelback; 52-Roeser; 60-Bethany Home; 70-Glendale/24th Street; 80-Northern/Shea; 90-Dunlap/Cave Creek; 106-Peoria; 122-Cactus; 138-Thunderbird; 154-Greenway; 170-Bell; 186-Union Hills/Mayo, the SMART (Sunnyslope) and DASH (downtown) circulators and all RAPID commuter routes: Central South Mountain East; Central South Mountain West; I-10 East, I-10 West, I-17 and SR-51.
