New York City spent roughly $20.6 million in transit cards, taxis, and gas mileage to get thousands of students to school before the month-long bus strike ended Feb. 11.
The transit union ended its walkout after union leaders were assured by prospective New York City mayoral candidates that their concerns about job protection would be heard after this year’s election.
Just 152,000 of New York City’s 1.1 million public schoolchildren ride school buses, but many are disabled or have no easy way to get to school.
The school bus strike was the first in the city since 1979. About 5,000 of the city’s 7,700 routes were affected.
The cost of busing students has risen from $100 million in 1979 to $1.1 billion today, prompting Mayor Michael Bloomberg to insist the city must seek new bus contracts to cut costs.
