The Regional Municipality of York has ended its contract with First Canada, which operated buses along 29 YRT routes in northern York Region.

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union(ATU)’s Locals 113 and 1587 have been on strike against First Canada and two other private companies that supply transit service in the Region since Monday, October 24.

Region staff are working to complete a new contract with a different supplier to operate these routes. The Region intends to resume transit service along York Region Transit’s 98 Yonge route — serving Yonge Street between Green Lane in Newmarket and the Bernard Terminal in Richmond Hill — Sunday, February 5. Afterwards, the Region will add more service in Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury and Georgina, as soon as it can.

“It is outrageous that nearly a month has passed since First Canada and ATU Local 1587 last met to negotiate their agreement,” said York Region Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer Bill Fisch. “This strike continues in the midst of winter at the expense of riders. With neither side showing any regard or urgency, and no resolution in sight, we are doing everything we can to help restore transit service for our riders while protecting the taxpayer.”

Today, York Region notified First Canada it has exercised its legal right to end the North Division contract, which otherwise would have expired Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Staff will present a contract with a new service provider to York Regional Council during its meeting Wednesday, January 26. After Councillors review and approve the contract with a new provider, staff will finalize a plan to restore transit service to the North Division.

The Region also issued letters today to Miller Transport and York BRT Services, requesting those two companies, which the Region contracts to provide transit services in other areas of York, to develop a detailed service recovery plan by Friday, January 20. The service recovery plan would outline more options for restoring service, while the transit strike continues. The Region continues to review these two contracts and await the results of a vote, which the Ontario Ministry of Labour is supervising tomorrow, when members of Local 113 consider an offer from York BRT Services.

Ending the First Canada contract follows the Region’s move last last week to operate 60-foot articulated Viva buses along the 99 Yonge route, replacing most of the 40-foot YRT buses that previously dropped off and picked up passengers along the route. The buses serve the southern end of Yonge Street between Bernard Terminal in Richmond Hill and Finch GO Bus Terminal in Toronto.

“Within the last five days, York Region has taken two significant steps to begin adding capacity and restoring service for our transit riders and we will continue to seek more region-wide solutions,” said Chairman Fisch. “The Region cannot restore full service overnight, but we will continue to do all within our power to deliver additional service for the riders who have suffered far too long during this strike.”

The Region says it has allowed enough time for the bargaining process to unfold and, despite efforts to encourage the parties to negotiate an end to this dispute, they have failed to do so, including the employees’ recent rejecting by 83 per cent an offer from Miller Transit. The Ontario Ministry of Labour also supervised that vote.

York Region does not have the contractual right to order the parties to arbitration and Regional Council has been clear in its position not to request back-to-work legislation from the Provincial Government or support arbitration as a means to end the YRT / Viva strike.

The union is not on strike against a fourth company, Veolia Transportation — ironically, also the owner of York BRT Services — which operates buses along about 40 percent of YRT’s regular routes in the southwest division in Vaughan.