The weeks-long threat of a Vineyard Transit Authority bus driver strike appears to have been averted after the drivers’ union and management came to a tentative contract agreement this week. 

Both the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents about 30 drivers for the Island bus service, and the VTA this week confirmed that an agreement had been reached, though it will still need to be ratified by union members in an upcoming vote. 

The bus drivers had voted in favor of a strike in late July after union representatives said that the drivers’ wages are too low, and the benefits package isn’t good enough. The union also called for VTA administrator Angela Gompert to step down. 

Transit Connection Inc., the company that runs the bus service and conducts the contract negotiations, had offered hourly wages topping out at $33 an hour in 2026. That ceiling would increase by a dollar in December and then by a dollar annually through 2028. 

The lower end of the range would start at $29 an hour in 2026 and rise to $32 by 2028. 

The union had called for high pay, saying that it is difficult to keep staff if the VTA is only willing to pay $33 an hour.

According to the VTA, management’s proposal was the one the union ended up agreeing to. 

“The VTA is pleased that Transit Connection has reached a tentative agreement with ATU Local 1548, averting any service disruptions,” Ms. Gompert told the Gazette Friday. “The agreement provides meaningful wage increases for our drivers while remaining financially responsible to our communities we serve and our funding partners.”

The number of holidays was also a point of contention in the contract negotiations. The union had asked for nine holidays while management offered eight. Ms. Gompert said that under the tentative agreement, Labor Day would be added as a holiday, bringing double pay for the working drivers. 

Charles Ryan, the union president, did not respond to a request for comment this week after notifying the press of the tentative agreement. 

The VTA runs 14 routes across the Island and carries about 1 million passengers annually. The union last held a strike in 2019. Ms. Gompert thanked the parties for coming together to keep service rolling. 

“We appreciate the work of everyone involved in reaching this agreement, which is now subject to ratification by the union membership,” she said.