By Jason Meisner

More than 200 Pace bus drivers and mechanics based in the suburban transit agency's northwest garage walked off the job early today, cutting service to nearly 22,000 riders.

The strike was announced by Teamsters Local 731, which represents about 175 drivers and 50 mechanics operating 22 Pace routes in the north and northwest suburbs, Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said. Picket lines are being set up outside the garage in Des Plaines.
 

Wilmot said the union rejected the suburban bus agency's contract offer earlier this month, effectively authorizing a strike. But the union had indicated it was willing to participate in further bargaining sessions before walking off the job, he said.

"In our eyes this is an illegal strike," Wilmot said. "Our belief was that the union was going to come to the table and negotiate."

Teamsters Local President Terrence Hancock, who was overseeing about three dozen picketers at the Pace northwest division office in Des Plaines, said union members were prepared to stay out indefinitely.

Union members were dissatisfied with the progress on contract negotiations, which have been going on for a year, he said. The two sides were close to an agreement, with only two issues separating them, but he declined to say what those were.

The strike was not expected to spread to other Pace routes. Other unions represent workers at the other Pace garages.

In all, Pace has 240 bus routes in suburban Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties.

Wilmot said Pace was "in the process" of working out dates for mediation with the union and was not notified of the strike in advance. There is no plan to continue service with replacement workers, he said.

The walkout comes in the midst of the crush of people looking to get out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday.

It caught virtually all riders by surprise.

Elise Harland, 18, of Woodstock got off the Metra train in downtown Des Plaines, where she planned to transfer to a Pace bus to take her to Oakton Community College.

She immediately took out her cell phone and called the school to see if someone could pick her up. "I don't know how I'm getting home tonight," she said.

Pace said it had dispatched employees to various bus stops and train stations to notify passengers of the strike.

Wilmot said many commuters will be forced to find alternative routes to O'Hare International Airport, which is served by Pace Route 250.

"It certainly is unfortunate because we have service that operates to O'Hare, and there are a lot of routes that will not be available today affecting schools, hospitals, and shopping malls," Wilmot said. "To do this on the busiest travel day of the year is pretty disappointing."

Woodfield, Lincolnwood, Old Orchard, Northbrook Court and Golf Mill shopping centers are affected. Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The routes affected by the strike are: Route 290-Touhy Avenue, Route 270-Milwaukee Avenue, Route 208-Golf Road, Route 209-Busse Highway, Route 210-Lincoln Avenue, Route 637-Wood Dale Rosemont CTA, Route 690-Arlington Heights Road.

Also, Route 694-Central Road-Mt. Prospect Station, Route 610-River Road-Prairie Stone Express, Route 221-Wolf Road, Route 223-Elk Grove-Rosemont CTA Station, Route 225-Central-Howard, Route 226 Oakton Street, Route 230 South Des Plaines, Route 234-Wheeling-Des Plaines, Route 240-Dee Road, Route 241-Greewood-Talcott.

And Route 250-Dempster Street, Route 215-Crawford-Howard, Route 272-Golf Mill-Westfield Shoppingtown Hawthorn, Route 422-Linden CTA/Glenview/Northbrook Court and Route 423-Linden CTA-The Glen-Harlem CTA.

The strike is the latest problem for the bus agency fraught with budget woes and disputes with its parent agency, the Region Transportation Authority.

Last week, faced with a $50 million deficit for 2008, Pace's board of directors approved a new budget calling for "devastating" service cuts -- including evening service on all routes -- and fare increases in January unless long-stalled mass transit funding legislation is approved.

Fares on all Pace routes will increase to $2, and all paratransit, dial-a-ride, taxi-access program and vanpool rides also will cost more. Pace will no longer accept CTA passes except for the CTA/Pace 30-day pass.

In addition to eliminating all service after 7 p.m., Pace will cut 24 weekday routes, weekend service on 78 routes, and 65 Metra feeder and shuttle routes. Pace will also eliminate 230 jobs.

This latest doomsday scenario would occur Jan. 20, the same day that the CTA plans to eliminate 81 bus routes, raise fares to as high as $3.25 a ride and lay off more than 2,400 employees, without resolution to the months-long deadlock in Springfield.

Only two rounds of last-minute stopgap funding -- tapping 2008 money and redirecting a federal transit grant -- have prevented Pace and the CTA from already implementing most of the service cuts.

The fare increases and service cuts would cost Pace nearly 11 million fewer rides next year, officials estimated. This comes at a time when Pace ridership is at near-record levels. Pace served 3.7 million passengers in October, a 3.1 increase over 2006 and the third-highest October since the transit agency was formed in 1981.