STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A contract dispute between New York City and school bus companies could leave approximately 150,000 students without transportation to and from school starting next month.

Pioneer Transportation Corp. informed New York state on Monday that it plans to end school bus service after Oct. 31, laying off about 12,000 union employees, according to a letter obtained by the Advance/SILive.com.

It’s one of several major school bus companies that notified the state Department of Labor ahead of layoffs under the Working Adjustment and Retraining Notification laws.

Buses operating under ‘emergency contracts’

Pioneer placed blame on the city Department of Education’s Panel on Education Policy not approving a five-year contract extension, which was originally scheduled to begin

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