NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — A possible school bus driver strike could impact thousands of public school students in New York City.
The good news is the union says bus service will run normally for the first two days of school, on Thursday and Friday, but the bad news is that a strike could still happen in the coming days.
Parents are expected to gather later Tuesday to demand the city take action either to prevent the strike or come up with a better contingency plan.
The union that represents the bus drivers, attendants, and mechanics says they simply cannot make ends meet and want to negotiate a fair contract.
This school bus driver strike could impact up to 150,000 students in the New York City public school system.
The last school bus strike happened back in 2013 and lasted five weeks.
Parents say that the strike caused some students to be stranded at home.
“We want to do what’s right by our bus drivers. They are moving our children to and from,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
“I’m hoping they make a decision with the strike because I can’t afford it this year,” a parent said.
“People depend on the buses,” another parent said. “If we don’t have the school buses we have got to figure out a way.”
The city did release a contingency plan in the event of a strike.
Students would be given MetroCards if they are able to take public transit.
If that is not an option, families would be reimbursed for alternative transportation, or in some cases, the city may provide ride-share services.
Some parents say this plan isn’t going to cut it.
They want a more detailed plan that includes things like unlimited MetroCards for high schoolers and providing schools with money upfront to help families who cannot pay for transportation.
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