By Chris Reese and Claudia Parsons
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - New York transit workers on Thursday called off a three-day subway and bus strike that caused havoc in America's most populous city at the height of the holiday season and which may have cost the economy $1 billion.
"They'll go back right away," Transport Workers Union Local 100 leader Roger Toussaint told reporters after the union's executive board voted overwhelmingly to end the strike after mediation by a state labor board.
A TWU spokesman said workers would soon be opening 26 subway routes and many local and express bus routes but it would take 10 to 18 hours to resume full operations. Commuters still faced a chaotic return home on Thursday evening.
City officials have estimated the economic hit from the strike at $1 billion over the three days. It came in the week before Christmas and Hanukkah when retailers, restaurants and other service industries would normally be at their busiest.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed the resolution and said he expected some bus lines to be running later on Thursday, and most subways back to full service on Friday. "There's still plenty of time for people to shop," he added.
Reaction on the streets was unanimous. "I'm glad that it's over. I didn't think I'd be able to leave the city to go home to Virginia for Christmas with all the hassles," said fashion stylist Christina Turner.
The strike was called off after talks at which the union and transit authorities agreed to resume bargaining on key issues such as pensions and healthcare, mediators said.
The union's executive board voted 36 to 5 with two abstentions to resume work immediately.
Some 34,000 workers in the Transport Workers Union Local 100 walked off the job on Tuesday after contract talks broke down over pay, health care and pensions, stranding some 7 million passengers who use subways and buses each day.