LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Buses and trains could be rumbling across the city at full strength by the end of the week after a tentative deal was reached ending a transit strike that idled the nation's third-largest transportation system for more than a month.þþA few scattered bus lines resumed service Monday night, but full bus and train service was not expected to be restored until Thursday at the earliest, officials said.þþÿIt's going to be hit and miss,'' Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief executive Roger Snoble said Monday. ``By weekend, by next week, we'll be in top shape.''þþTransit mechanics and the MTA, the agency in charge of most bus and rail service in Los Angeles, brokered a deal over the weekend that settled all outstanding contract issues except the major source of the labor dispute -- health care benefits. Both sides have agreed to resolve their differences on that issue through nonbinding arbitration.þþ``We were able to come to an agreement. An agreement we can all live with,'' said Neil Silver, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents the mechanics. ``I'm asking my membership to bring down the picket signs. They can return to work.''þþThe settlement agreement will be voted on Wednesday by union members.þþAbout a half-million people use the county's public transportation system every day. While the MTA managed to keep some routes running with privately run buses, the 35-day strike inconvenienced thousands, added to traffic gridlock and hurt the regional economy.þþBus riders were relieved Monday evening when given the news on the strike's end. Stories of long walks and endless waits were the common refrain.þþ``I had to pay taxis four to five times,'' said Ann Avareau, 46, a veterinary student. ``It was a struggle.''þþThe MTA board voted unanimously Monday morning to accept the terms of the 3-year, 9-month labor contract, which includes a 6 percent raise over three years, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke. The average annual salary for MTA mechanics before the raise was $50,000.þþRides on the city's public transit system will be free through Saturday and those holding bus passes for October and November will be allowed to ride free until the end of December.þþBy some estimates, the strike has cost $4 million a day in lost wages and business for the MTA. Mechanics, meanwhile, missed out on about $1,000 a week in pay, said Zev Yaroslavsky, another county supervisor.þþ
Source: NY Times
