Straphangers who still have nightmares of the 2005 holiday-season subway and bus strike can rest easy.
The MTA and the Transport Workers Union have agreed to settle the most recent contract dispute through arbitration, each side said yesterday. The decision of the three-member panel, which has yet to be picked, will be binding.
The current contract was set to expire in eight days.
Some officials believe talks were calm this year because of the massive financial struggle the MTA is facing in 2009.