Here’s a full list of schedule changes. The biggest on the list — OmniRide Express buses in Prince Willliam and Stafford counties, with service to Washington, D.C. — will not operate today due to an “extreme” shortage of drivers.
We asked Victor Angry, chairman of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, which oversees the operation of OmniRide and Virginia Railway Express trains, about the strike.
“We, the Commissioners, and the localities that make up the commission, recognize our operators have a pay disparity throughout the region, and we are addressing that. Keolis won the contract to manage our drivers and is in negotiations with their union. My hopes are that they can reach an agreed-upon contract that not only puts all our operators back in service but invites others to join our ranks. OmniRide is a premiere bus system in a growing county with so much potential and opportunity. I am looking forward to the day when those opportunities become our reality,” Angry said in an email.
Negotiations between Keolis, the company that manages the drivers, and the union are ongoing. Just days before the strike began, OmniRide agreed to increase its payout to the union by 17% in the coming year’s budget.
