Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District employees effectively avoided a threatened strike after members of Teamsters Local 186 union voted to adopt a new contract on Friday.

After nine months of negotiations, union members voted 108 to 34 to accept the agency’s amended two-year contract and raise the health care eligibility age for retired employees from 62 to 65. The MTD Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the contract at tomorrow night’s meeting.

According to an MTD press release, all bus service will continue as scheduled.

UCSB students were notified about the potential strike via e-mail on Friday, shortly before the agreement was reached. Roughly 175 Teamsters work as drivers, mechanics, utility and service workers for MTD. The groups had been struggling to find a solution since their previous three-year contract expired in June.