Some generous Moncton residents are reaching out to transit users who are affected by the Codiac Transpo lockout.
Danielle Kerr lives just off McLaughlin Drive in Moncton and she is one of 7,000 area residents who are affected by the city’s lockout of Codiac Transpo workers this week.
Kerr says the lockout has brought her life to a standstill.
“I can’t go anywhere. I can’t bring my daughter to the zoo, or downtown to any doctor’s appointments,” says Kerr. “It is hard. She’s five years old. I can’t make her walk all the way downtown.”
When city officials announced the lockout late Tuesday night without notice, a number of area residents decided to step in and help.
One of those people is Riverview resident Tamara Robertson, who set up a Facebook page where transit users and car owners could connect.
“For these people to say ‘this is where I need to go’ or for other people to say ‘I am willing to drive’ and I went from there,” says Robertson.
She says the Facebook has been active with people looking for help, and with people looking to offer a drive.
Monctonresident Gerald Robichaud is working on the project with Robertson and he says the response has been huge.
“Grocery stores, drug stores to get prescriptions,” he says. “We have had a few on there with requests to get to a food bank.”
A local cab driver says she hasn’t been hit hard yet, on day two of the lockout.
“The weather is nice, so people are walking or trying this for now,” says Shawna Byers. “I think within the next few days it will probably pick up a little more.”
While many people are willing to help, Kerr says a lot of transit users are still hoping a resolution to the lockout will come soon.
“There are elderly people that have to take the bus. What are they supposed to do?” she says. “They have no other way around town except to take the bus.”
Roughly 90 bus drivers, mechanics and other workers in the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1290 have been without a collective agreement for two years.
For those riders who have purchased passes, the city says it is offering a refund for any unused passes and a pro-rated refund for partially-used passes.
