School buses will be running Monday for New York City public school students after the bus companies said they will sign an emergency contract extension to continue negotiations.
The 30-day extension includes a 30-day grace period, which means bus service should continue without disruptions through the end of the calendar year.
Contract negotiations to continue for NYC, bus companies
The companies have been under a contract dispute with the city. A five-year contract was reached in June after a year of negotiations, but the city’s Panel of Educational Policy (PEP) has yet to approve the contract, which was already greenlit by the bus companies, the Department of Education and City Hall.
We’re told the panel is holding off for a better contract for students that also includes protections for drivers and transportation staff. The hope was that Wednesday night’s PEP meeting might lead to a deal, but no vote took place.
A spokesperson for the bus companies said the extension will allow for all parties to return to the table while not leaving students and their families stranded.
“We have serious concerns about the entire process, but we want and need to work with the PEP. We want a relationship with them,” the spokesperson said, in part. “We look forward to finalizing this contract at the November PEP meeting.”
“Mayor Adams has remained committed to ensuring that our public school students can safely get to and from schools, and we are glad to hear that thanks to our efforts, our contracted school buses will continue to serve students on Monday without disruption. We expect to be directly informing families about this resolution tomorrow,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in a statement.
The bus companies collectively transport about 150,000 students every day, including 68,000 students who have disabilities, are in temporary housing or are in foster care.
contributed to this report.