Acadian Bus Lines and the Amalgamated Transit Union have signed a tentative deal, which could put an end to the five-month-old contract dispute.

The Amalgamated Transit Union sent out a brief statement on Thursday morning confirming the tentative deal.

It's not clear when buses will be rolling in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island again, but the union says it could be within two weeks if the deal is accepted.

The union membership will vote on Sunday.

The union and the company had been negotiating since Sunday with a mediator.

'It's been a long road, it's been a long time, and I guess today we have to look out and say today's a new day and let's move forward from here.'—Glenn Carr, union president

Glen Carr, the president of the union, declined to discuss the details until the entire membership sees the tentative deal.

But he said he's recommending the union accept the terms.

"If what you don't get this time, and you tried, and you ask the next time and see what you get," he said. "But you know what? We're positive. We're positive our membership will take this."

Carr said he's relieved to finally have a tentative deal after such a long dispute.

"It's been a long road, it's been a long time, and I guess today we have to look out and say today's a new day and let's move forward from here," he said.

"We can't go backwards. We have to look at it as a positive and move ahead and let's be optimistic."

New vice-president credited

The union members will vote on the tentative deal on Sunday. If accepted, buses could be running within two weeks. (CBC)

The difference in the latest round of negotiations, Carr said, was the presence of Denis Gallant, the company's new vice-president for the Maritimes.

"They've hired this gentleman, he's a local from the Maritimes," Carr said.

"He knows the Maritime provinces ... He knows the geographic layout of the provinces down here in the Maritimes. So I mean that's a big plus. I think he's going to be instrumental to move this company forward.

"He was able to put any bad feeling or any animosity or any personalities aside because he doesn't come with any of that baggage. So that's really positive and I think that's really the number one thing that put this together," Carr said.

Gallant said his goal was to get a deal done once he arrived in his new position.

"Five months [of a] lock out has been long, the whole process has been over a year, so I think everybody's tired and everybody's just looking forward to just get back to work and provide the service that New Brunswickers and [Prince Edward] Islanders and people from Nova Scotia are looking for," he said.

"We are aware there are some angry feelings out there. And we are going to do our absolute best to provide top notch service," Gallant said.

Buses could run within 2 weeks

If the deal is accepted by the union, Gallant said buses will be running within two weeks.

The only question mark is how many employees will still want their jobs because many have found other work in the past five months.

Gallant said the number of routes that are relaunched would depend on how many employees come back to work.

Acadian Lines locked out its 59 bus drivers, maintenance technicians, and customer service representatives in December. Fifty-six of them are based in New Brunswick, while three are on Prince Edward Island.

Peter Arsenault, who has driven a bus for Acadian Lines for the last nine years, said the news of a tentative contract is a huge relief for him.

"Now we just want to move forward, everybody working together regardless of anything that may have happened in the past, try to have a good future for the company and for us," Arsenault said.

Previous talks failed

The work stoppage halted inter-city bus service in New Brunswick. It also cut off bus service between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Acadian Lines had said it was holding out for changes that would allow it to halt its financial losses. The company said it lost around $2 million operating buses in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island last year.

The company said it lost more than $7 million in the last eight years.

The two sides had failed to reach an agreement after earlier negotiations in February.

Talks had previously broken down in October and workers voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action.

At that time, Acadian Lines was offering a contract with no pay increase over the next five years, according to the union. The union wants at least a cost-of-living increase.

The company presented a last-minute contract offer to the union on Nov. 25. However, the workers voted 88 per cent against the deal.

Bus service complaints

The dispute raised concerns about the state of bus service between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Since the lockout, Roger LeBlanc has had to switch to a shipping company to deliver tools and motorcycle parts.

At double the price of Acadian Lines shipping, LeBlanc hopes the buses will be running again soon.

"It'll be cheaper for us, and cheaper for our customers," LeBlanc said. "The service was great, you know, it goes a lot faster, the people will receive the stuff the same day everywhere in the Maritimes."

New Brunswick's regulatory system, which was put in place in 1937, was designed to ensure bus service to remote communities by restricting competitors from coming into New Brunswick and poaching the best routes.

A Prince Edward Island-based company failed in an attempt to set up a new shuttle service between the two provinces.

The Energy and Utilities Board denied the application from Advanced Shuttle Services to set up a 15-passenger shuttle service between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Advanced Shuttle Services proposed to run two shuttles which would leave P.E.I. and make stops in Port Elgin, Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton.

The company, however, is planning to set up a charter service between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

A charter would be for individuals or groups who would book the shuttle to go to a specific location.

A Nova Scotia company is also starting to shuttle people between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Gary Shelton, the operator of Scotia Shuttle, has been operating a transit service for years in Nova Scotia. Shelton said in April that he saw a business opportunity for a daily run between Halifax and Saint John.