Sun Tran avoided a strike when its five-year contract expired June 30 without a new deal, with bus service continuing as normal while union members prepare to vote on the company's final offer July 11 and 12, even as Teamsters Local 104 says the safety concerns at the heart of the dispute remain unresolved.

Teamsters Local 104 and Sun Tran bargained through the night June 30 without reaching a new contract agreement, according to a post on the union's Facebook page. The company's final offer will be presented to union members July 11 and 12, when members will vote to accept or reject it.

The union said workplace safety remains one of its highest priorities.

"Our operators continue to face unacceptable safety risks, and Teamsters Local 104 will continue to advocate for the protections our members and the community we serve deserve," the statement said.

The city's $2.15 million transit safety plan, approved by the council in June as part of the broader Safe City Initiative, is designed to address many of the same concerns the union has raised at the bargaining table.

Pima County voters approved the RTA Next plan in March, which set aside $51 million for transit safety and security over its 20-year lifespan, or about $2.15 million per year.

That funding is now being used to implement the city's transit safety and security action plan, which the council adopted in December 2025 and which was developed with input from the Tucson Police Department, Sun Tran, the Department of Transportation and Mobility, the Community Safety, Health and Wellness team, bus drivers and Teamsters Local 104.

The $2.15 million first-year budget covers transit ambassadors, contracted security, training, outreach, technology and vehicles. The largest expenditure is $700,000 for a contract with Off-Duty Management to hire eight special duty police officers, each estimated to work 25 hours per week.

Other major ongoing expenses include $221,580 for transit stop improvements such as lighting and sleep-deterrent benches, and $200,000 for general maintenance including graffiti removal.

At the city council's June 9 meeting, Mayor Regina Romero expressed opposition to continued funding for the city's long-standing contract with a private security company, which is included as a $187,200 expenditure in the budget.

"I really don't see the value or the return on investment in additional dollars for that private security company right now," Romero said. "I would much rather spend those funds for additional operator security investments."

Romero said she would rather see funds directed toward the transit ambassador program, since ambassadors have the ability to connect people to services in ways that private contractors cannot.

Of the total, $214,000 is in one-time costs, including $104,000 for mounted cameras, $70,000 for transit ambassadors and outreach teams and $40,000 for cameras at the city's Community Safety and Response Center.

Because this is a first-year budget, the Department of Transportation and Mobility said spending will shift year by year based on what the data shows is needed.

Since March 9, TPD has deployed two teams of two officers each across five priority corridors to improve safety at transit stations and coordinate hotspot response.

The deployments originally ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday but have since expanded to six days a week on the same resources, resulting in 730 warnings, 127 arrests, 88 citations, 28 referrals for services and 15 deflections.

Romero reflected on the progress made since the Safe City Initiative launched, emphasizing the importance of including voices beyond law enforcement in the Safe City Task Force.

The cross-department effort includes DTM, TPD, the Community Safety, Health and Wellness team, Sun Tran management, bus drivers and Teamsters Local 104, the union representing Sun Tran employees.

The Tucson Transit Advisory Committee has also expressed its support for the draft, with Department of Transportation and Mobility Deputy Director Andy Bemis saying the city is working on recruiting transportation ambassadors.

The plan also addresses driver and operator safety. An upgrade to the radio system is already underway with grant funding, and the city plans to use additional funds to upgrade barrier systems on buses.

All Sun Tran buses currently have driver barriers, but newer models and technologies have emerged since they were installed. The city plans to procure sample barriers to test on select buses, gather feedback from drivers and the union, and then consider a broader rollout.

The plan also includes a repeat offender recognition system to keep "bad actors" off buses, as well as de-escalation training for drivers, according to Bemis.

Sun Tran has increased cleanups at its stops, with roughly 275 of its 2,200 stops cleaned each day and all stops receiving service at least once a week.

Additional plans include establishing reporting metrics to track the success of these efforts and publishing a quarterly report through the RTA Citizens Accountability for Regional Transportation Committee.

"I appreciate all of the time that has been spent in making sure that the stakeholders, both writers and operators as well as our community and advisory and our Safe City task force. All of them, including Teamsters, SunTran and others, have spent time really defining what the needs are for our community," Romero said. "As your mayor, the safety of our community is my number one priority."

Ian Stash is University of Arizona alum and freelance journalist in Tucson. Contact him at ianjgs16@gmail.com.

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