VTA riders feel grateful for return of bus service after struggling during strike shutdown

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- VTA bus service was fully restored Friday, more than two weeks after a worker strike put a halt to transportation for thousands.

While VTA light rail service was still not running yet. Many riders were grateful to at least have the bus service back.

"You don't realize how much you need something until it's gone," said Jesse Valdez from San Jose. "It's good that they're back."

"The buses are back so I'm really grateful for that," said San Jose State freshman Caitlin Salvador.

RELATED: VTA bus service to resume Friday, light rail delayed due to alleged copper wire theft

"Anywhere we have to go, we were completely dependent on the VTA," said SJSU student Skanda Gonurnagaright.

VTA says it lost $76,000 each day services were halted during the strike.

Friday's bus rides were made possible following a judge's ruling on Wednesday that union members violated a "no-strike clause" in their contract. The judge issued a preliminary injunction sending them back to work without a contract.

"It's been a real hardship for a lot of people the past two weeks and so we're happy that we are able to get that service back up and running for people who need it," VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said.

During the strike, Salvador had to walk 30 minutes from Diridon Transit Center just to get to class.

RELATED: Judge sides with VTA, orders union workers strike to end; partial service resumes Friday

"It was just like a wave of relief," she said. "Also I've had to manage my time a bit differently because when I take the light rail I get home pretty fast because I can reach my train but here, I really have to schedule my time, so it's been a lot on top of all the school work."

Others without a car, were forced to take Ubers, just to get the essentials.

"That was quite problematic, for three weeks we couldn't go anywhere," Gonurnagaright said.

Despite VTA offering $5 Uber vouchers twice a day during parts of the strike, they never quite covered the full fare.

"On a normal day, it's $24-25 daily but in strike, it's become high like $30, $34, $40, $40 above," said Sunnyvale resident Sumit Gill.

For rider Batin Browning, the service is coming back at an especially important time.

"I have a job interview today, and I had to postpone it all the way 'til today, because it should have been last week," Browning said.

While grateful to be able to make that job interview, Browning said the strike led to him missing other opportunities.

"I wasn't able to interview with two places for a janitorial position that I could have got to if the light rail was working," he said.

While VTA service was down, Browning said he relied heavily on his electric scooter.

A group of three international students at San Jose State said they took similar measures during the strike, renting Bay Wheels bikes to get to and from campus -- something they said was difficult to do in the rain.

"That's the reason we are wearing these jackets today," said student Rahul Reddy.

But Reddy and his friends were pleasantly surprised to find out Friday that they could get back to their normal, drier commute.

"We were getting drenched in the rain, and we had to attend college every day, so it was not feasible for us. But since VTA is back, we are very happy, and we are able to commute to our college very easily," Reddy said.

The return of the bus service has been much appreciated, but now many riders like Browning are also anxiously awaiting the return of VTA's light rail service.

"Light rail is more quicker than the busses, because I have a scooter," he said. "It helps better, because it's hard lifting it onto the bus. And then when the busses get really packed, I feel out of place with my big scooter, but on the light rail, it's real easy for me."

"I mean, they're hand-in-hand, you know. You can't do one without the other," Valdez said. "But I'm glad they're back."

VTA said light rail service has taken a little longer to restore while crews are doing safety checks along the tracks and repairs from copper wire theft.

They said light rail could be back Monday at the earliest.