A Greyhound bus is parked at a bus terminal in Ottawa September 3, 2009.Blair Gable
A shutdown of Greyhound bus traffic in Ontario and Quebec has been averted for now.
The company announced Wednesday afternoon that it reached a tentative agreement with a union and all schedules should operate normally.
"We apologize for any inconvenience this process may have had on any of our passengers," the company said in a statement.
About 490 employees, including 320 drivers and 170 maintenance workers, were expected to be locked out if a resolution to contract negotiations wasn't reached by 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
This week, 87 per cent of union members who voted rejected Greyhound's offer, citing pension issues and driving hours as the key sticking points.
The new agreement is subject to ratification by union members.
Just before the deal was announced, news of a possible lockout had some customers fuming at a Toronto bus terminal.
Anna Botelho, 34, said she wasn't warned about the shutdown when she bought two non-refundable tickets from Toronto to Hamilton for herself and her 31-year-old husband, Abraham.
Ms. Botelho, who is 7½ months pregnant, tried to get her money back. She said she was initially told that she could get a refund, but then was asked to call Greyhound's main office to find out.
Since her pregnancy is high risk and she was warned about premature labour, Ms. Botelho said she couldn't take the risk of being stranded in Hamilton.
"I don't think I'll be riding with Greyhound … not if they treat their customers this way," she said.
"I even told them about the pregnancy and everything else, and it [was]just in one ear and out the other."
Lara and Tanya Dietl, sisters who travelled to Toronto to see the Michael Bublé and Backstreet Boys concerts, said they bought one-way tickets just in case.
If the Greyhound bus service shut down, Lara said she was prepared to take GO Transit or shell out a few more dollars for an Ontario Northland bus back to Barrie.
"It's a little inconvenience, but I mean, it is what it is," the 21-year-old said. "Can't really do much about it."