Bus drivers and train engineers will receive an 8 percent increase in the first year of a new contract and 3 percent in following years of a three-year deal, the largest increase for RTD operators in the 48-year history of the company.

The new contract raises the starting hourly wage for operators from $17.59 to $19.40, according to a news release. The pay increases — 8 percent the first year, followed by 3 percent in each of the following years — are the largest RTD’s operators have ever received.

The new collective bargaining agreement, which began March 1 and extends through Feb. 28, 2021, covers 1,975 RTD employees represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001. Union-represented employees constitute about 69 percent of the agency’s employee base. They primarily include bus and rail operators and mechanics.

“I am so pleased by the diligent, thoughtful bargaining work completed by both leadership teams,” said RTD CEO Dave Genova in a news release.

A tentative agreement for the new contract was reached Feb. 28, the last day of the prior contract, after more than five months of negotiations. The new contract was ratified March 10 by 89 percent of union members and approved March 13 by RTD’s Financial Administration and Audit Committee.