City Saved $80 Million During Bus Strike: Report

As New York City’s school bus strike ends Tuesday and about 200 private schools resume classes from the winter break, the price tag of the strike has emerged, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Amalgamated Transit Union 1181 agreed Friday to without a real compromise from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The strike began because union drivers wanted to renegotiate contracts to include stronger provisions for job security. Bloomberg argued such provisions would be illegal.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott told the paper that while the city spent more than $20 million reimbursing parents for travel, it saved $80 million by not paying the bus companies during the strike.

Walcott said he expected the price tag to rise as he urged parents to continue to file for reimbursement within the next month.

Most drivers will return to work on Wednesday as public schools resume after a winter recess, but the strike's fallout will continue to be felt as companies, the city and union sort through legal issues.