Shuttles set up by local colleges and universities to get students to school during the transit strike will get some funding from the City of Ottawa to help them boost service.

Mayor Larry O'Brien contacted senior officials at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College and La Cité Collégiale to look into various options that will be brought before city council in a report Wednesday, the City of Ottawa said in a statement Monday.

The four colleges and universities have been running private shuttles since the 2,300 workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 went on strike on Dec. 10, when many students were starting their Christmas exam period. Last week, the four schools reached an agreement to allow students from each institution to ride the shuttles run by the others.

The city said that as of Monday, the shuttles would be allowed to use the city's Transitways, which are usually only open to transit and emergency vehicles. However, first the schools must apply to the city for that right.

The opening of the Transitway to shuttles was among measures announced by the city last Friday to reduce the impact of the strike on Ottawa residents. The city is also boosting Para Transpo, the city's transit service for people with disabilities, by hiring more drivers, and leasing more vehicles and providing funding to people at risk of losing their jobs due to the strike.

Union to meet with city over transit staff cuts

The city also said Friday it is temporarily laying off 40 to 60 OC Transpo support and administrative staff to pay for some of the measures.

Those staff are represented by ATU Local 1760, which provided its striking sister local with a $10,000 donation about two weeks ago to support it during the strike.

On Monday, Wayne Crabtree, president and business agent for Local 1760, said he doesn't know whether the layoffs were retaliation against the union.

"I really don't know why they're doing this," he said, but when asked whether the city might be trying to divide the union, he agreed that could be the case.

Even if the city has increased costs due to the strike, Crabtree said, he doesn't think they should be paid for by his local.

Local 1760 was to meet with the city Monday to ask about its intentions and was to consult with a lawyer afterwards.