Riders depend on bus system to find a way.

Byline: Bob Welch / The Register-Guard

At the Lane Transit District's Downtown Station on Tuesday, a woman wearing a mauve coat and holding a white, red-tipped cane awaits her bus. It arrives. A man next to her, with disabilities of his own, helps her up and, together, they shuffle to get aboard.

What, you wonder, happens to this couple on Monday if the Amalgamated Transit Union goes on strike? What happens to lots of folks who are dependent on bus service? The folks who have no other transportation and an unforgiving boss? Or are too old to drive? Or are special-needs students? What happens to them?

"Those people who have the least resources to manage are going to be the ones who are most affected," says Janice Jurisich, part of a Eugene School District emergency transportation committee that's been making alternative plans for an estimated 700 students who regularly rely on LTD. Among them are 90 special-needs children.

With only one scheduled bargaining session between now and Monday's strike deadline, it's easy for those watching this political scrum to get so wrapped up in the debate that the bottom line - service to the public - gets overlooked.

If management and union represent an embattled marriage, then people such as Scott Woodward and Michelle Steinmetz are the children caught in the crossfire. "I use the bus to get to the employment office every day," Woodward says. "It's rough when you don't have money or a car."

Steinmetz is a Lane Community College student who, at 34, is trying to get some traction in her life by earning a business marketing degree. She's unable to drive so she relies on LTD. "I'm busting my butt this term and I don't want to blow my finals," she says. They begin March 14, a week after the strike is scheduled to start should no compromise be reached.

"I'll be in trouble," says Nellie Evashenko, who's 90 and unable to drive. "I have groceries to get."

You set up a transportation district, fueled mainly by tax revenues from the payrolls of employers within its boundaries, and you're, in essence, setting up a contract with the people you serve: Given the money available, we will serve you to the best of our abilities. And treat our employees fairly.

General Manager Ken Hamm, in a recent guest editorial, pledged that LTD will "do everything possible to resolve the remaining issues at the bargaining table and be sure a balance is struck." Friday, he has a last chance to walk the talk. And the union has a last chance to help find a compromise, too.

Because while the two entities are looking out for "their own," thousands of bus riders - and taxpayers - are counting on them. Not to mention the many special-needs children who will be challenged to make a major change in their bus-riding routines.

"Absolutely, it's going to be difficult for them," Jurisich says.

For some students, a strike will mean simply walking, riding a bike or getting a lift from Mom, Dad or a friend. "But what about the kids whose parents are working or who don't have access to an automobile?" Jurisich asks. "These are the kids who rely on LTD."

Every day of a strike would cost the school district because it's required by state law to provide bus transportation to qualifying students. It would cost businesses because people would have more difficulty getting places to buy. And it would cost striking LTD workers and their families - big-time.

But beyond all this - and LTD's reputation - a strike will cost the people for whom the system exists in the first place: people who have no other practical way to get from Point A to Point B. "Look around, it's mainly working-class people here," says Nancy Atkins, who lives in Eugene and works in Springfield. "I take the bus so I don't have to have a car - so I can afford a house."

On Friday, when management and the union meet, let's hope they bring not only their own concerns to the table. But also the concerns of the Scott Woodwards, Michelle Steinmetzes and special-needs children.