As Amalgamated Transit Union Local 741 enters its fifth day of strike, rumours are flying around campus.

University administration and the University Students’ Council are meeting daily in an attempt to find some sort of relief, but the process has left some students unsatisfied.

“I know they’re kind of in a jam […] I feel the [Flag and Tag] program is kind of sketchy,” said Daniel Brett, second-year business management and organizational studies student. “It would be great if they could offer a full scale bus service.”

“I think frankly they should outsource some metro buses and drivers,” Dan Van Kessel, fourth-year Ivey student, said.

The USC has explored the option of a shuttle system, according to USC president Emily Rowe; however, City bylaws prohibited anything to that effect.

“[A shuttle] was our top priority, but there’s just no way,” Rowe said. “There’s a bylaw that says if a city [has] a transportation system set up, no one can shadow that service.”

As a result, many other seemingly obvious transportation alternatives have gone unrealized.

“A lot of malls’ and grocery stores’ properties are unionized, so they wouldn’t allow shuttles to stop there,” Rowe explained. “They’re allowing the vans that are available now by the university to stop in certain areas, but if it were a bus service, we absolutely wouldn’t be allowed to stop.”

“We knew from day one what we had thought about and put into action was comfortable [for the union],” said Gitta Kulczycki, Western vice-president resources and operations.

School bus service, another option explored by the USC, also proved to be a dead end.

“We looked into getting any buses we could in case of a strike, and every single option we looked at was impossible,” Rowe said. “The equipment was lacking, and the ATU overall supports any specific union, so getting the drivers was an issue.”

Mike Murphy, secretary treasurer of Murphy Bus Lines, confirmed it was not an option for his company, but noted union solidarity played no part in the decision.

“We’re under contract to the school board and we don’t have the drivers or the equipment to augment that service — it’s as simple as that,” Murphy said.

While the USC and University meet, students are taking matters into their own hands.

Orest Katolyk, manager of bylaw enforcement for the City, noted a growth in the number of bandit cabs because of the strike.

“It’s grown because of the strike, but the unique thing is the Internet – there’s so many social networking sites where people are offering rides,” Katolyk noted.

James Donnelly, vice-president and chief operating officer for Aboutown Transportation Ltd., acknowledged the increase in bandit cabs.

“As far as these cars that are holding themselves out to be ‘for hire,’ […] that is a dangerous thing and […] we do consider [it] something to be infringing on the taxi drivers,” Donnelly said.

Katolyk added while websites simply saying they’re driving to Western and offering rides is fine, anyone acting as a taxi without the necessary licensing is infringing on a bylaw.

“The whole issue about licensing focuses on public safety and consumer protection,” Katolyk said. “And when we license taxis we license not only the drivers but [also] the vehicles, so we require a safety check be done, we require a driver to have a police check done, we require examination of the driver’s knowledge of the rules of the road and another exam on knowledge of the city of London.”

He added the fines for bandit cabs are set by the province and may reach a maximum of $500.

While negotiations continue to take place, students will be subject to the same academic policies.

“The associate deans decided there shouldn’t be a blanket accommodation […] It’s one thing if you’re living a five-minute walk from campus or an hour long walk from campus,” John Doerksen, vice-provost academic programs and students, said. “It is because of that wide range of facts that associate deans want to deal with requests for academic accommodation on a case-by-base basis.”

Rowe noted students are now entitled to some refunds.

“We’ll see if [the union and the London Transit Commission] go back to the negotiating table,” she concluded.

— With files from Mike Hayes and Cheryl Stone