The City of Moncton and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1290 are heading back to the negotiating table on Tuesday in the hope of ending the nearly three-month-old contract dispute.

The greater Moncton area has been without transit service since June 27 when the city locked out the bus workers.

The two sides say there is a sense of optimism that this latest session of talks will bring about a resolution.

George Turple, a union spokesman, said he hopes to see significant movement in the next few days.

“By Wednesday we'll know what direction we're all travelling in. I think that should be evident by that time — two days at the table,” Turple said.

“But we do have a lot to work out. There's a lot of details to work out. But if we can get the framework and the foundation taken care of, we'd know we can move forward from there and work out the details of everything else.”

Mediated talks between the city and Codiac Transpo broke off on July 10 with no resolution. Moncton has consistently refused to enter into binding arbitration with the union.

The city has made changes to its bargaining position in advance of this new session of negotiations.

Among the adjustments since the last round of talks, the city is proposing a longer term to the contract.

The city's last offer, which was later pulled off the table, contained a 13.75 per cent wage increase over five years, which would have brought a bus driver's annual salary to $51,000 in 2015.

The union, by comparison, was asking for a 23 per cent wage increase over five years in its last proposal.

That would have driven up a Codiac Transpo bus driver's annual salary to $55,120 in 2015, according to the city.