UPDATE: Brooklyn School Bus Strike Averted; Yellow Buses Will Run as Usual Tuesday

UPDATE, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 11 p.m.: Crisis averted! The bus drivers' union "reached a tentative agreement" with Jofaz Transportation and Y&M Transit in the final hour Monday night, meaning "all buses will operate tomorrow as usual," according to an NYC Department of Education (DOE) spokeswoman. "We are grateful to families and educators for their patience and support as we prepared contingency plans to provide transportation alternatives for students and families," the spokeswoman said. Here's more info on the agreement reached between Teamsters Local 553 and the school-bus companies. “This was always bigger than two companies and we will continue working with our allies in the labor movement to raise standards in the school bus industry," the union's secretary-treasurer, Demos Demopoulos, said in a statement issued late Monday night.

Original story, posted 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, below.

BROOKLYN, NY — Bleary-eyed school kids recovering from the Halloween sugar rush Tuesday morning, Nov. 1, might have one more headache to add to the hangover: a school bus driver strike that would leave nearly 15,000 kids living along hundred of bus routes in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island out in the cold.

Lawyers for two of New York City's largest school-bus operators — Jofaz Transportation and Y&M Transit — were haggling with union representatives late into Monday night at a law office in Midtown, trying to hash out a fair contract for 900 bus drivers facing increased health costs and fewer vacation days.

"They're still negotiating," Alex Moore, a rep for the union, Teamsters Local 553, told Patch around 7 p.m. Monday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier in the day that he was optimistic a deal would be reached by midnight, thus avoiding interruptions to the Tuesday morning commute.

"Everyone’s working very hard to avert this strike," de Blasio said on news radio. "And what we’ve seen with school bus companies and their unions in the past, it often goes down to the wire. So, we’re still hopeful this can be averted."

Even so, by Monday evening, the city's Department of Education (DOE) had set into motion a "comprehensive contingency plan" for the following morning's commute.

Here's what you need to know.

When will the strike start? If no deal is reached by midnight on Monday, Oct. 31, school buses along affected routes won't arrive to pick up students on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 1 — and each afternoon and morning after until a deal is reached.

Who will be affected, and in which areas? 12,000 public school students and 2,500 private school students in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island whose buses are operated by Jofaz Transportation or Y&M Transit. (The company names are normally printed in big letters along the sides of their buses.) No buses from any company will be halted in Manhattan or the Bronx.

The DOE isn't releasing specific information on which exact routes and schools will be affected, for privacy and safety reasons. However, DOE officials said they "robo-called families over the weekend" and "backpacked home information" with students at affected schools.

Still unsure if your student's bus will show up Tuesday morning? Call the DOE's Office of Pupil Transportation at 718-392-8855 Monday through Friday between 5:30 AM and 7:30 PM — or email pupiltransportationteam@schools.nyc.gov anytime — for individual help.

What do we do if the strike goes into effect? Send your kid to school in a car, taxi, city bus or subway. The DOE has promised to reimburse all costs. Here's the info they sent out to parents at affected schools:

• MetroCards: All students who currently receive yellow bus service are eligible to receive a MetroCard. Parents and guardians of all children with disabilities requiring transportation from their home directly to their school, as well as parents or guardians of general education children in grades K through 6, may also receive a MetroCard for the parent or guardian to act as the child’s escort to school. Should a strike occur, MetroCards will be available upon request at your child’s school's main office beginning on Tuesday, November 1.

• Reimbursement for Driving or Taking a Taxi or Car Service: As an alternative to MetroCards for parents or guardians whose children receive busing, we are offering reimbursement of actual transportation costs during the strike:
  • Parents or guardians who opt to drive their children to school will be reimbursed at a rate of 54 cents per mile.
  • Parents or guardians who use a taxi or car service to transport their child to school will be reimbursed for receipts for services received.
  • Requests for reimbursements should be made once weekly. Forms and instructions are available online and in your school’s main office. The forms ask you to indicate on which school days alternative transportation was taken and whether it was for both the morning and afternoon commute.

• Financial Hardships: For families facing financial hardship who are concerned with covering upfront costs of transportation for children, the DOE will pay, at the parent/guardian’s direction, private transportation providers (such as a taxi or car service). Forms and instructions are available online.

• Field Trips and After-School Programs may be affected as well. Your child’s school will notify you of any schedule changes.

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Lead photo via Teamster