After a tenacious dispute threatened drivers at the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) would strike, the agency’s board of directors approved a new contract Feb. 22. “This agreement means that OC Bus services will keep running for passengers who count on us to get to work to school and elsewhere throughout Orange County,” OCTA Chairman Mark A. Murphy said in a statement. Team Local 952, the union representing 600 bus drivers, approved the three-year agreement on Feb. 22. Negotiations have been underway for nearly a year since the old contract expired last April. It wasn’t until January when bus drivers decided to strike in an attempt to fight for better pay and more rest breaks. Under the new agreement, drivers will receive a 4 percent raise immediately and a one-time $2,000 contract signing bonus for all current drivers from federal COVID-19 relief funds, according to an OCTA press release. Drivers …