U. plans for possible strike

Penn and Drexel universities were ready during the last city-wide transit strike in 1995, and they're ready this time, too. In preparation for a possible union strike against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the neighboring University City schools have developed contingency plans to transport students, faculty members and staff around the area. In the event of a strike, four Penn buses and two Drexel buses will shuttle people from both institutions between Houston Hall and three sites: 30th Street Station, Lindenwold Terminal at 16th and Locust Streets and the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby. Buses will leave every half-hour from those locations between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The schedules for the buses to the three locations varies in the afternoon, but the vehicles will leave from Houston Hall from 4:15 p.m. until 9:45 p.m. Riders will need to show Penn or Drexel ID to get on the buses. But because of the "abnormal traffic conditions" that usually accompany SEPTA strikes, the schedule is only an approximation, Penn Transportation Services Manager Ronald Ward said. The University used a similar plan during the last SEPTA strike, which lasted two weeks. SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union Local 234 have been negotiating since December. The current contract expired on March 15, but the union said Saturday night it would continue to negotiate without declaring a strike as long as the two sides were making progress. According to Ward, "the [contingency] plans are ready to be implemented if and when the strike begins." Because the University is sharing the cost of the transportation services with Drexel, the financial burden is not "tremendous," Ward said. He could not estimate the daily cost of running the shuttles yesterday. "We could probably continue [the service] for one or two months. We might be able to go longer if we need to," Ward said. In order to have enough drivers for the additional buses, Ward and his assistant will both drive buses in the morning and afternoon. Some Penn employees work as both parking-lot attendants and bus drivers. Those workers will be used as bus drivers full time, Ward said. The University is also encouraging administrators to allow for some lateness by employees if the strike occurs, Ward added.

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