Some 70,000 commuters in Brooklyn and Queens were bracing last night for a tough winter, as drivers and mechanics for two private bus lines prepared to walk off their jobs today.
“I’ll have to go on the subway to Manhattan, then get the A train. It’s 2 ½ hours,” said Juan Nuñez, a 60-year-old horse trainer who rides a 4 a.m. Q11 bus every day from the Woodhaven Boulevard subway station to Aqueduct Racetrack.
A strike loomed last night, with the Amalgamated Transit Union, Green Bus Lines and Command Bus Lines still far apart on health-care and job-security issues in their contract negotiations.
A city official said dollar vans were authorized to ply five key routes that would be affected.
Riders were split over who was to blame for the strike – but all agreed it’s they who would be hurt most by a walkout.
“It’s the customer that’s always held as the captive – the needy customer,” said 71-year-old Alfred Piazza.