SAN JOSE — Over the past three weeks, Abel Garcia, 42, walked back and forth across Santa Clara County so much that he had blisters on his feet.
“I must have walked about 100 miles during the last couple of weeks,” Garcia said Friday morning as he waited for a bus at Diridon Station. “All I can feel is gratitude that they’re up again. I know my feet are grateful.”
Riders and drivers returned to their usual bus routes Friday morning as Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority resumed bus service after a historic two-and-a-half week strike by union workers was ordered to end by a judge earlier in the week.
About 1,500 Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 workers returned to their jobs Thursday, one day after a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge issued an injunction ordering the union back to work but did not rule on whether the strike was a breach of contract. The union plans to appeal the court’s ruling, according to a union spokesperson. The transit agency and the union have yet to reach a new contract agreement.
At Diridon Station on Friday morning, a handful of riders waited at the bus depot as VTA buses once again hit the road. For many riders, the return of bus service was a relief. Garcia said that he uses the bus to get to vital appointments where he “can’t not show up.” On many days, he walked nearly ten miles each way from Campbell to east San Jose and back for appointments.
“I just pray that somehow the sun shines on their part, too, because I do know that the cost of living is just so harsh here, and we need (the buses) up and running,” Garcia said. “I hope there’s not a whole lot of harshness or animosity between riders and drivers. But I just try to be appreciative, show them appreciation, because the fact is we do rely on them a lot.”
“Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude that they’re running again,” he added. “I’m just grateful.”
Nick J, a 26-year-old resident of San Jose, said that he was unable to use the monthly bus pass he paid for during the strike and that his commute increased from 15 minutes to 30 minutes or an hour as he biked or walked instead of taking the bus. He added that he struggled to find Lyft bikes for his commute into his office, where he works in person daily.
““I love it!” he said of the end of the strike. “It was hard to manage.”
Grigoriy Dubyago, a 36-year-old resident of Campbell, said that it was “absolutely unacceptable” that state officIals did not stop the strike for nearly three weeks. He added that he hopes the union gets the raise it is pushing for, and that he is happy that the buses are working again.
“I know working for the union, what it’s about,” he said. “It’s all just about money and stuff, so people are prioritizing personal interest over public services.”
Grigoriy Dubyago removes his bike from a VTA bus after arriving at Diridon Station in San Jose, Calif., for his commute to Sunnyvale, Friday, March 28, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Dubyago added that the strike caused hardship for those with disabilities, including his father, who is 80 years old and blind.
“They really do fight for their independence and not having to rely on others, on family, because they do that like 90% or 100% of the time,” he said. “It means a lot to people to be able to have the buses for that – to have dignity for themselves, and not have to break their wallet and stuff trying to get these Uber rides.”
But for union workers, the return to work resulted in mixed feelings, said Jeff Down, a VTA bus operator of 20 years who lives in San Jose. For Down, it was “nice to be back,” he said.
“I’m a regular driver, so I see the same people every day. So it’s good to see my passengers,” Down said, adding that it was a quieter morning than usual because it will take a while for everyone to learn that buses are running again.
“It’s not the best-case scenario, so we will just stay on our old contract until the new one goes into effect,” he added. “It’s really sad that it came to this. Negotiations have been going on for like six months.”
During the strike, Down picketed with his fellow union members and was able to live off savings. Down added that the most recent contract proposal from the VTA was “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
“By changing the overtime rules, it effectively eroded the raise,” he said.
“I just have to put trust in the union’s leadership, and hopefully VTA’s leadership is doing their good deeds, and say some prayers,” Down added. “I can’t give too much energy for something I can’t control. So it’s good to be back.”
Light rail service was expected to resume Monday following inspections.
The VTA said that as workers have started inspections of the track, they have found “increased incidence” of copper wire theft, which will be investigated and repaired, said VTA public information officer Stacey Hendler Ross. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department said it investigated two incidents of copper wire theft since the strike began March 10 compared to four reports in the same period last year, though Ross said not all the discovered thefts had been reported yet.
The union walked off the job March 10 after negotiations for a new contract fell apart the previous week, seeking a more significant raise and arbitration language. The strike brought the county’s public transportation to a standstill, with the roughly 100,000 people who use VTA services daily having to find alternative forms of transit.
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The VTA filed its lawsuit on the first day of the strike alleging that the union broke a “no strike” clause in their contract, while the union maintained that the clause no longer applied as the contract expired in early March.
The union voted down the agency’s most recent contract proposal Monday, which offered an 11% raise over three years if the union agreed to provisions altering overtime that had been previously removed from negotiations in January.
The agency and the union had not returned to contract negotiations as of Friday, said Hendler Ross.
VTA bus driver Juan Plaza, a 26-year veteran, helps a passenger find her bus at Diridon Station in San Jose, Calif., Friday, March 28, 2025. Bus service resumed today following a weeks-long strike. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)