About
The 17-member Team GRT is off to Whistler! The final count is 14 drivers and 3 mechanics who will be part of Whistler Transit. We are all from CAW Local 4304, which represents bus operators, Mobility Plus operators, mechanics and service personnel working for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo at Grand River Transit in Ontario. Most of us leave Jan. 27th and return Feb. 28th or March 1st. The excitement is building! I just can’t wait until I arrive on the West coast as part of the Olympic team, transporting the world to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver!
BC Transit services will increase five-fold in Whistler. The bus fleet will expand from 39 to 135 buses to serve the estimated 2.1 million customers expected during the month of February. Existing Whistler routes will run more often, augmented by eight new routes. Some routes, like the Squamish and Pemberton connectors, will run 24/7. Most routes will run every 10 to 30 minutes. The enhanced transit service plan will start February 1 and run until February 28, 2010. Altogether, there will be 330 drivers employed by Whistler Transit during February.
The 17 days of the Winter Games begin on Fri. Feb. 12 and end on Sun. Feb. 28. We’ve signed for two shifts, with Feb. 1 to 7 being the Week 1 Shift, and the Feb. 8 to 28 shifts being the Week 2, 3, 4 Shift. Bid lists were emailed to us daily, and we had to call out to Vancouver at bid time. I must say that all of the staff that I’ve dealt with over the phone and by email has been extremely friendly and helpful.
They have also promised to take good care of us while we are out there. Our flights have been donated by Air Canada. We will be met at the airport and shuttled to our hotels where we will be issued cell phones. We will also be given an Olympic jacket, although we are to wear our own uniforms while at work. Then we will undergo at least three days of training. Our hotels sound wonderful, and are also part of the deal. Plus, we receive a $30/day meal allowance. Week 1 shifts average about 32 hours for the week, while the Week 2, 3, 4 shifts average about 38 hours. The pay is $24.05 per hour.
There will also be Tweats at twitter.com/caw4304.
Visit our home page here: http://caw4304.ca.
