Greyhound Lines Inc. agreed to resume talks with the union representing its bus drivers for the first time since the violence-marred walkout began nearly two weeks ago. The Dallas-based company said Tuesday it had agreed to begin the talks Saturday in Phoenix at the request of Bernard DeLury, head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The company's announcement seemed to catch union officials off guard. ``If this is true, we welcome the opportunity to talk to the company. This is what we have been seeking all along,'' said James La Sala, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union. At least seven shooting incidents have been reported since the strike began March 2, including one in Florida where eight people were injured. A picketing driver was crushed to death by a bus on the second day of the strike. On Tuesday, a sniper shot at a moving Greyhound bus in Chicago. In Fresno, Calif., a Greyhound-owned Trailways bus parked in a storage yard was set on fire Monday night, police said. No one was injured in either episode. Greyhound had refused to resume negotiations unless the union offered new proposals. Spokesman George Gravley had said Tuesday he did not know if the union had changed its offer. ``There's no point in our speculating what may happen,'' Gravley said. ``We are going back to the bargaining table and that speaks for itself.'' Greyhound, the only nationwide bus company, has been operating on a reduced schedule to the 9,600 communities it serves, using permanent replacements and union members willing to cross the picket line. Greyhound has said it cannot afford more than the $63 million, three-year pact it offered. The company valued the union's last offer at $207 million, although the union said it would cost much less. The differences apparently stem from questions over the cost of measures such as benefits, safety pay incentives and productivity raises. In the shooting, at 1:15 a.m., two bullets hit the front end of the bus, one hit the door and one went through a window and ``just missed a fellow's head by a couple inches,'' said Master Sgt. John Meduga of the Illinois State Police. ``Everybody started to scream,'' Meduga said. Gravley said he had no evidence to connect the latest shooting to the strike, but added, ``We don't have buses shot at when we're not negotiating a contract.'' Union officials have condemned the violence, which has included three shootings in Chicago and shootings in Ohio, Arizona, Florida and Connecticut. Greyhound spokeswoman Liz Hale said a $25,000 reward remained in effect for information on a sniper who shot a bus Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla., injuring eight passengers with shrapnel and other debris. In Pittsburgh, meanwhile, the city council issued a resolution encouraging residents to boycott Greyhound buses until the strike is over. The council accused Greyhound of an ``utter lack of good faith toward its employees.''
