As public school students in New York City head back to their classrooms on Thursday, the city’s Department of Education continues to deal with a looming bus driver strike.

The union representing bus drivers ruled out a strike the first week of school, but students, parents and teachers are already preparing, and so is the MTA, according to Janno Lieber, chair and CEO of the agency.

He appeared on “Mornings On 1” Thursday, saying the MTA is ready to step in to help get kids to and from school.

“We’re working closely with the city’s DOE. We give them 1.7 million MetroCards every year, so they're using those. We're also looking at if we need specific targeted additional bus service in particular – we call them wildcats, those are buses that are not scheduled on regular routes, but that we would add – and especially for the students with special needs, we're making sure our paratransit service is ready to go,” he said.

Lieber emphasized that service has dramatically improved post-pandemic and with the assistance of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature, the MTA’s budget crisis has been remediated for the time being, allowing the agency to increase service where needed.

“It’s a good time to be a New York City transit rider,” he said.

Lieber also stressed that crime in the city’s transit network has dropped dramatically, and assured that students will be safe commuting to and from school on public transportation.

“Our subway safety stats have dramatically improved in the last year. And we're actually way down versus pre-COVID in terms of crime. We saw a couple of terrible incidents in recent weeks, but overall, the subway is much, much safer,” he said.

As students return to school, the MTA also will be rolling out a new public safety campaign warning teenagers and children about the dangers of “subway surfing,” with Lieber noting that students are the most at risk to partake in the dangerous activity while “looking for some excitement after school.”

He said the agency teamed up with high school students to create the PSA, and Schools Chancellor David Banks will also help promote the message.