Schools Chancellor Dennis Wolcott says New York City spent roughly $20.6 million shuttling students to class during the month-long bus strike.

The strike ended Friday evening. Wolcott says the city saved about $80 million during the strike because it didn’t have to pay the bus drivers.

He said he’s glad to have members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 returning to work.

Some 8,000 bus drivers and aides went on strike Jan. 16. The union wanted the city to include protections for current employees in future contracts with bus companies. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a court ruling prohibited the city from doing so.

Full service for public schools is resuming on Wednesday after mid-winter recess. Wolcott says some routes will begin Tuesday.

(AP)