The Town of Oakville and Unifor Local 1256 representing Oakville Transit drivers and mechanics reached an agreement ending the Oakville Transit strike, and buses returned to full-service today, Friday, March 4, 2022.
In recognition of the inconvenience caused by the transit strike, the town says they "will be offering free transit service on all conventional, Home to Hub and specialized buses from March 4 to 31, 2022."
"We realize the strike has been disruptive and inconvenient to those who depend on Oakville Transit to get to work, school, and essential appointments," commented Phoebe Fu, Town of Oakville Commissioner, Community Infrastructure.
A tentative deal was reached on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 and was ratified by union members and Oakville Town Council on Thursday, March 3.
In addition, customers who purchased a monthly paper pass for February and/or March will be provided with an equivalent free monthly pass for use in April or May. To obtain the free monthly pass, customers can come to the transit office on Wyecroft Road starting March 4, 2022, with proof of purchase (es).
Customers who purchased monthly passes through the PRESTO system will be reimbursed the monthly pass value back to their PRESTO account. This credit may take four to six weeks to be processed by PRESTO.
As well, the province recently announced that beginning March 14, 2022, local transit would be free for riders connecting to and from GO Transit on most municipal transit systems, including Oakville Transit. The fare discount will be automatically applied when tapping your PRESTO card when transferring between Oakville Transit and GO Transit services.
"We are looking forward to welcoming our customers back and hope others who haven’t tried Oakville Transit before will consider today’s news a great opportunity to give it a try,” added Phoebe Fu.