Students and faculty reacted to the news of the current Metro Transit bus drivers’ strike by searching for new ways to get around the Twin Cities.

The Internship Program office has been working to arrange car pools and other transportation for students who had previously relied on the bus system. Director Mike Porter recently sent an e-mail to all interns asking for their work schedules and cooperation during the walkout.

Porter began compiling the work schedules of the students with internships, community service and off-campus student employment this semester. In an e-mail sent out on March 3, Porter offered several options to students, including carpooling, ACTC buses or altered work schedules.

The “Need-a-Ride” database, containing contact information and work schedules of students willing to drive other students, is available in the Internship office for students involved in those off-campus activities.

The Internship office is also examining the possibility of using Macalester vans to transport students to certain high-use areas.

“The bus strike has made it really difficult to get around,” Mollie Gabrys ’06 said. “I relied on the bus to get to and from my internship at the State Senate and to my community service, so now I have to find rides elsewhere. So far I’ve been able to manage, but it’s getting harder to find rides.”

Students have also experienced problems getting to doctor’s appointments or other vital appointments, forcing them to reschedule, pay for a taxi or cancel arrangements.

“I’m lucky enough to have a car on campus, so the strike hasn’t impacted me,” Amber Schmugge ’05 said. “However, a lot of my friends are asking for rides or to borrow my car to get to doctor’s appointments or the grocery store. This needs to be settled quickly for the good of everybody involved.”

“I feel terrible that we can’t be there for them,” said Becky Davidson, who drives the number 17 bus in Minneapolis. “[The strike] is especially hard on us drivers because we get to know our customers. They’re our friends.”

Despite the inconvenience, many sympathize with the strikers and public reception to the strike has been positive.

Davidson, who was picketing along with several other workers along Snelling Avenue midday Sunday, estimated that for every “thumbs down … we get 20 thumbs up.”

Leaders of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local #1005 are striking to maintain the bus drivers’ current level of health and retirement benefits. The ATU, which represents over 2,000 Metro Transit workers, walked off the job at 2 a.m. last Thursday.

Under the contract proposed by Metro Transit, health care costs would nearly triple for a family of four.

Suburban buses not affiliated with the ATU 1005 are still running.

While many students have been inconvenienced by the strike, other students simply miss the friendly attitude of the bus drivers.

“I miss the buses because they always stopped for me at the crosswalk,” Greta Alquist ’07 said. “The bus drivers are wicked nice.”