Story updated: 12:45 a.m.

City buses will run as usual on Thursday, even as the strike deadline has passed for negotiations between the city and HSR drivers.

The strike deadline for Hamilton bus drivers was 12:01 a.m. Officials for the city and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107 are locked in early-morning negotiations at a downtown hotel, hoping to reach a last-minute agreement that will avert job action. But neither have indicated yet whether that will happen.

The two sides are still talking, said city spokesperson Mike Kirkopoulos. They have met every day this week, and are expected to meet into early Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, buses will run as scheduled on Thursday.

GO Transit officials, meanwhile, say that GO service will run as scheduled on Thursday, and will be modified slightly if there is a strike.

Buses and trains will run from the Hunter Street GO station, spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins told CBC Hamilton late Wednesday night. If there's a strike, it's unlikely that there will be pickets up by early Thursday morning anyway, she said.

"Our transit control centre is monitoring it very closely," she said. "We've decided we're sending buses regardless tomorrow because some of the buses leave as early as 4 o' clock in the morning."

"Tomorrow be business as usual."

If there is an HSR strike, Aikins said, buses will pick up passengers near, but not at, the Hunter Street GO station. This will prevent GO drivers from crossing picket lines.

"There will be some practical differences but we should be able to cope fairly well," she said.

Any changes will be posted at gotransit.com or tweeted at @GoTransit.

A key sticking point between the city and HSR drivers is the length of the upcoming contract. Local 107 president Eric Tuck says his team is pushing for a contract length other than four years, since the 2018 municipal election will get in the way. The city wants a four-year contract.

Coun. Matthew Green of Ward 3, a regular transit user, said Wednesday night that he feels hopeful.

"I'm confident that our staff will be able to work out a fair deal," he said.

He tweeted after midnight that "with negotiations ongoing it looks like HSR buses will run tomorrow as scheduled. Whew....I can still make it to work on time."

Council met behind closed doors on Tuesday to get an update. Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the city still hopes to reach an agreement in time.

"We're hoping and expecting that a negotiated settlement will happen in a timely fashion," he said on Tuesday.

The ATU represents 658 bus drivers and mechanics.

Hamilton bus drivers earned up to $29.44 per hour in 2014, in the upper middle range of comparator cities. TTC operators make $32.03 and GO Transit operators earn $31.88. In Waterloo, they earned $28.27 and in Guelph, $27.21.