Just ahead of a midnight deadline, the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District and Teamsters Local 186 agreed to a tentative contract Thursday evening, which will allow bus service to continue for at least 45 days.

The news of the agreement was announced in a press release from the MTD thanking the public for its patience.

“MTD and the Teamsters have also agreed to a state-mediated contract proposal, and a vote on that contract by Teamsters members is anticipated,” said Hillary Blackerby, the MTD’s planning and marketing manager.

Union leadership is supportive of the contract, and members will vote on the contract offer next week, according to Jed Johnson, a negotiator for the Teamsters.

“We are going to vote (on) the contract on Monday at MTD, and if the members vote ‘yes’ and accept it, then we have a 3-year deal,” Johnson said.

Teamsters Local 186 represents drivers, maintenance teams, and supervisors at the MTD.

Terms of the tentative agreement were not released.

The 45-day extension will extend the current contract into mid-September to allow the MTD board time to approve the proposal. The MTD board does not meet during August.

The deal between the two sides will prevent a possible strike by MTD staff who voted down the previous contract offer over a lack of a pay increase, changes to employee healthcare, and disagreements on holiday pay.

The current contract was set to expire at the beginning of July, but the two sides have agreed to multiple extensions after state mediators stepped in.