At the shuttle, frustration and relief

As commuters continued to arrive at Ronkonkoma to take the last shuttles of the strike, empty trains headed west toward New York City, rolling past the platform and onto the main line.

Joe Boko, 41, of Centereach, said he was taking a 6:38 a.m. shuttle to work as a chef in the city. He expressed frustration at the negotiations taking three days.

“Kind of disappointed; it's grown adults that can't talk things out,” Boko said. “I think that was their goal, to strike all along.”

Both his parents were in unrelated unions and he said he “backs unions 100%” as the unions, in turn, gave him a good life.

Ultimately, he said, both sides need to “be realistic” and the union should have considered taking an arbitration year.

“Look, it's never perfect, right? Arbitration and …negotiations get ugly," Boko said. "Sometimes the unions are right, sometimes the unions are wrong.”

Shelley Curcio, 39, of Holbrook, said she has to work in person two times a week as an actuary in midtown. She usually takes the train but worked from home yesterday.

“I have really no idea what's going on, because they didn't say how often the buses are coming,” Curcio said. “Thankfully, there's tons of them here.”

Juan Vargas, 58, of Patchogue, who works for the health department, brought his electric bike with him to the shuttle.

“I’m happy,” he said about the settlement. “I’m really happy.”