LA Metro services return to normal after 1-day bus driver sick-out

Los Angeles Metro bus and rail service returned to normal operations on Saturday, May 4 following an apparent sick-out by dozens of Metro bus drivers over driver safety issues, which caused delays throughout the day on Friday.

The action Friday was “an unsanctioned sick-out” that affected 40 out of 120 total bus lines, Jose Ubaldo, Metro spokesman, said Saturday.

About 525 operators called in sick Friday, 300 more than on a typical Friday, he said.

Bus line delays happened mostly in downtown Los Angeles, South L.A., southern and western Los Angeles County, Hollywood, Long Beach and the South Bay. There were on average 10-15 minute delays on lines with significant cancellations, Ubaldo said.

Information about the delays came from LA Metro rider alerts on social media and their website on Friday, as well as a statement from the transit agency, including one asking drivers to stay on the job and not call in sick, for the sake of transit-dependent riders.

The drivers are upset about recent attacks on bus operators, including a driver stabbed in the chest in Willowbrook. Drivers have been spit on, kicked and punched.

Word of the sick-out spread late Thursday night as an effort to draw attention to the drivers’ demands for safer working conditions.

Representatives of both the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation (SMART-TD) union did not return phone calls or emails on Friday or Saturday.

Metro brought on volunteer operators, instructors and trainees to manage the lines and maintain service on Friday.

The agency alerted passengers to delays and staffing shortages at regular intervals on Friday. The number of lines affected grew to 45 by 5:20 p.m. with delays through 8 p.m. The last update was posted at 9:20 p.m.

“Metro remains grateful to our operators who remain the backbone of our agency,” Ubaldo said Saturday.