The Orange County Transit Authority board has approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the union that represents its bus drivers.

The new deal includes raises of 14%, officials said.

Those wage increases will begin this month and will remain in place through April 2027.

OCTA directly employs about 600 bus operators and contracts with an additional 330, it says.

Drivers are represented by Teamsters Local 952, which also represents workers at the Anaheim Convention Center, Pepsi, Ralphs, UPS and Disneyland.

​“We appreciate the Teamsters efforts to negotiate in good faith and reach a fair and competitive deal for our valued employees,” said OCTA Chair Tam T. Nguyen. “Our coach operators perform a vital service and are often the face of OCTA, the people that tens of thousands of bus passengers rely on for the highest level of safe and reliable service.”

The new contract also includes an accelerated wage scale that allows drivers to advance to the top pay-rate after four years rather than five. Drivers also receive higher wages during training, a higher uniform allowance and bonuses for working days with “historically high absentee rates.”

Another aspect of the deal, according to OCTA, is a plan to improve driver safety in the wake of several high-profile attacks on transit drivers across the region.

The Transportation Authority will work alongside the Teamsters to create a committee whose main focus is on safety. Independently, OCTA says it is expanding safety measures to protect drivers, including installing more safety barriers on OC Buses and “refining training to de-escalate and resolve conflicts on buses.”

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