The Boston public schools expect that all buses will run on time this afternoon.
“We have drivers confirmed for every route,” said Lee McGuire, a School Department spokesman. “This is another positive sign and we appreciate everyone’s patience this week.”
Earlier today, the department had warned parents that some students might face significant delays on morning routes due to continuing tensions between drivers and the private transportation company that operates the bus service.
The department said that it feared 15 routes would be driverless out of a total of 181 routes in use for 3,954 students attending about three dozen charter schools and special education programs that have started classes early.
Advertisement
But McGuire said efforts overnight by transportation officials; the private company that operates the buses, Transdev; and the school bus drivers’ union convinced more drivers to show up for work.
The bus drivers, who staged a surprise one-day work stoppage last year that left thousands of students stranded, have been working without a contract since June. Although they drive city-owned buses, they are employed by Transdev, an Illinois-based company that oversees the city’s four bus yards and previously went by the name Veolia.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.
John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.