Bus Strike and Disabled Riders

We are the leaders of the Disabled Riders’ Advisory Committee to the Orange County Transit District. Our people were affected seriously by the recent transit strike. We care deeply about the district, the drivers and our fellow passengers.

We, along with the Transit Riders’ Advisory Committee and the Senior Citizens’ Advisory Committee, share a vested interest in the peaceful and continuous operation of our district’s buses. These are essential to us. They are the only way we can get to work, to school, to much-needed recreation and to medical care.

Because we choose to sit on these committees, we make the effort to learn all we can about the day-to-day operations of the district as well as the conditions under which the drivers must operate. Some of us have numerous opportunities to speak with both drivers and management and are well informed on issues vital to both sides. We therefore offer the following suggestion to the district and the drivers’ union:

Let a representative of each of these riders’ committees be present at future negotiating sessions between labor and management. We feel that the insights that we can offer into the feelings and requirements of the concerned parties may well be of enormous help to mutual understanding and to the decision-making process.

GARY A. MUDGE

HARRY (HAP) BAYLEY

Anaheim