Striking bus drivers march across Brooklyn Bridge

More than 1,000 striking school bus drivers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday to ask the Bloomberg administration to reach a deal on the strike, according to published reports.

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 have been striking since Jan. 16, calling for their jobs to be guaranteed as the city looks to put school bus contracts up for bid.

The city counters that its illegal to offer such protections in contracts, and that drivers have to negotiate with the private companies that employ them.

The city will start considering new bids for private bus transportation Tuesday.

School bus contracts have not been up for bid since 1979. Drivers then went on strike for three months.