Students will no longer have to walk in the cold to get to class. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 741 voted 72 per cent in favour of a new contract on Dec. 14, ending the strike.

The end of the strike means London Transit Commission will need to refund many of its pass holding riders for the lost riding time. Full-time Western undergraduate students currently pay $137.18 in student fees for their eight-month bus passes.

“Our top priority is to fully reimburse students according to the contract we have with the LTC,” Emily Rowe, president of the University Students’ Council, said.

Rowe said during the next few weeks, the USC will be learning the full amount of the LTC reimbursement and the amount spent on programs to accommodate students during the strike. The USC will not receive the reimbursement until Jan. 13 — 30 days after the end of the strike.

Kelly Paleczeny, director of finance and administration with the London Transit Commission, estimated the USC would be receiving a refund of $19.57 per student. Paleczeny explained, however, the total is dependant on the number of students who have bus passes, which is yet to be finalized.

“We won’t be looking for any financial compensation until we know that the funds are actually ‘in hand,’” Gitta Kulczycki, vice-president resources and operations, said. “We need to obtain the final tallies of all the costs.”

Kulczycki explained the University primarily sponsored the carpool web portal, the volunteer driven vans and the expanded shuttle bus service between the affiliated colleges.

“The University was the primary sponsor/facilitator of [these] programs and has incurred directly the costs associated with them, and other related costs,” Kulczycki explained.

“The USC, [the Society of Graduate Students] and the University […] indicated at the outset, the willingness to share costs associated with helping our students […] We’ve not yet sorted out the specifics of that. We need to obtain the final tallies of all the costs,” she added.

According to Paleczeny the refund was calculated based on the total cost of the pass, divided by the number of days the pass is valid. That number, approximately 50 cents a day for Western undergrads, is multiplied by the number of days the strike lasted, to give a final refund.

This formula was applied to all refunds the LTC handed out according to Paleczeny. Holders of November monthly passes were refunded for the 15 days of service lost.

“They’re essentially getting about half back,” Paleczeny said.

“In all honesty, I don’t think it’s enough,” Adam Gömöri, creator of the Facebook group ‘Issues with the London Transit Commission,’ said. “People with passes lost more money in cab fare around the city than [the LTC is] paying back.”

The final agreement between LTC and ATU Local 741 includes a 12 per cent increase in driver wages over the next three years, totaling $26 an hour.

“The question was how long can you live without getting paid and how long can we deny this service to the city,” Pat Hunniford, president of the ATU Local 741, said regarding the settlement. Hunniford added the issue of driver safety was never fully dealt with.

“In all, this strike was a disaster from both ends,” Gömöri added.