Bus companies sign emergency extension to avoid bus disruption for NYC students

Thursday, October 30, 2025
NEW YORK (WABC) -- All bus companies have agreed to sign another one-month emergency extension of their existing contract, averting no bus service next week, a lawyer representing the bus companies said.

A statement from a spokesperson for the lawyer stresses that the companies "look forward to finalizing this contract at the November PEP meeting."

The statement went on to say the bus companies will likely be in this same position next month.

"First and foremost, in good faith, we are signing the 30-day extension because, in the end, this is about the children and our employees, period," the statement said.

Buses will be running on Monday.



The contracts for the buses that transport 150,000 public school students have been approved on a month-to-month emergency basis since the end of June -- the result of an ongoing dispute.

The unions that represent 12,000 unionized workers want a five-year contract extension, which has already been negotiated between the bus companies, the city Education Department and the mayor's office.

But the Panel for Education Policy, which reviews the Education Department's large contracts, unanimously opposed the contract at its meeting Wednesday night, saying it lacks adequate employee protections and service improvements.

While the PEP's 24-member board includes a simple majority appointed by the mayor, the administration has let three seats go vacant, and some Adams appointees on the PEP appear to be asserting independence from the mayor.

The mayors office said it is urging the PEP to approve the contract extension on the table, but under current mayoral control laws, the PEP has new voting powers and the decision is not solely up to the mayor.



"These are issues we must keep in mind if/when mayoral accountability is removed," a city official added

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