Audio Riders feel impact of bus strike (story audio) Photos Susan Roedl More from MPR Despite bus strike, metro traffic running smoothly (03/04/2004) Riders brace for Metro Transit bus drivers strike (03/03/2004) Resources St. Stephen's Human Services Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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Riders feel impact of bus strike
by Toni Randolph, Minnesota Public Radio
March 5, 2004

Susan Roedl is a counselor at St. Stephen's Human Services in Minneapolis. She says if her clients lose their jobs because of the bus strike, they could lose their apartments and end up back in a shelter. (MPR Photo/Dan Olson)

The strike by Metro Transit bus drivers is now in day two. On day one, the work stoppage didn't produce the major traffic headaches that had been anticipated, but there was a big impact for some bus riders.

St. Paul, Minn. — The walkout by bus drivers didn't stop classes at the Ronald M. Hubbs Center in St. Paul. Adult basic education and English language classes went on as usual Thursday. Teacher Hillary Frazey was teaching her mostly immigrant students how to differentiate vowel sounds. But some students missed Frazey's lesson, and she thinks that's because of the bus strike.

"When I heard that the buses were going to strike, I explained it to them, when it would take place and when it would start and what it would mean for them. And I asked how many students would not be able to make it, and about six or seven raised their hands, which is about half of my class," Frazey says.

In the end, about nine students made it to class -- they had their own cars or were able to get a ride from family or friends. But Frazey worries what will happen to the others if the strike drags on. She says she's already considering mailing classwork to them. Frazey says the strike hits those who can't afford a car, or can't drive the hardest.

It's really inconvenient right now because I have to walk. - Tonia Houston

Up until Thursday's walk-out, about 75,000 people were riding Metro Transit buses every day. About two-thirds of them have cars, but for the rest, public transportation is their only transportation.

Tonia Houston says the walkout is making it difficult for her to find work.

"It's really inconvenient right now because I have to walk," Houston says.

After a job interview Thursday, she stopped into St. Stephen's Human Services in Minneapolis, where she gets assistance in her job search. She says could probably get a ride, but most of her friends are at work themselves.

"So now I'm on Franklin and 24th and I have to walk to 36th and Park," Houston says. "I have leads on jobs and it's so hard. Now that I have these good leads, how am I supposed to get to the job without the bus running?"

That's another problem. At St. Stephen's, the counselors are offering to drive their clients to work -- even though it takes away from their other responsibilities. St. Stephen's helps the jobless, the hungry and the homeless. Susan Roedl says if her clients lose their jobs because of the bus strike, they could lose their apartments and end up back in a shelter. That, she says, could have a high cost.

"Once they re-enter the shelter, and they enter because they were evicted, it's going to be really hard to find them another place," she says.

Roedle says housing a family of four in a shelter costs more than $100 a night.

At the Salvation Army, Heidi Batten works with the homeless, the unemployed and the under-employed. She says even a short-term strike is more than an inconvenience for the working poor who lack transportation options.

"It's kind of like the final straw against them getting to work or keeping their employment," Batten says.

Whether it's the final straw or not, the bus strike is making life more difficult for those who already have trouble with housing and work.

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