Update 3:30 p.m.: Pace bus service is reportedly resuming at this hour after bus drivers and mechanics who walked off the job this morning agreed to return to work.
Union and Pace officials are now scheduled to meet with a federal mediator to attempt to resolve the contract dispute starting next Monday or Wednesday.
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Only one of three Pace bus routes in Evanston is reportedly running today after Pace drivers and mechanics at the northwest garage in Des Plaines walked off the job early this morning.
The routes without service are:
- Pace Route 208, which runs from the Davis Street ‘L’ station west along Church Street in Evanston and on to Old Orchard and the Northwest Transportation Center in Schaumburg
- Pace Route 215, which runs from the Howard Street ‘L’ station to Old Orchard via Howard Street, Crawford Avenue and Golf Road.
The one route still running, according to Pace officials, is Pace Route 213, which runs from the Davis Street ‘L’ station north along Green Bay Road to Northbrook Court.
In all, 22 Pace routes serving about 21,500 riders are affected by the strike of the workers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 731. Drivers and mechanics at other Pace garages are represented by other unions.
The 220 striking employees had been working under an expired existing contract and voted Nov. 4 to reject the latest contract offer from Pace, which had the effect of authorizing the union to call a strike. But Pace officials said they were working to arrange mediation of the dispute with a federal mediator when the strike was called.