Buses were rolling in Saskatoon on Monday for the first time after a month-long lock out of transit workers was ruled illegal, but there was no indication of when contract talks will resume.

“I think we're all better off at this point in time to take a step back, let everybody grab their breath,” Mayor Don Atchison said Monday. “Let’s look at the labour board ruling and see what they have to see also. And once we have all of that, let's get back (to negotiations).”

On Friday, the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board ruled the city’s Sept. 20 lockout of transit workers was illegal and ordered the city to end the lockout. That same day the city issued 48-hour notice of a second lockout but rescinded that notice Saturday over concerns it may also be ruled illegal.

The city is appealing the labour board decision and a judiciary review will have the final say on whether the city was in the wrong to lock out the union.

Jim Yakubowski, president of Amalgamated Transit union local 615, said workers were happy to be back on the job but there is still work to be done to reach a contract agreement

“Obviously we have yet to receive or get to a point where we have a collective agreement for our members so that'll be our first priority to get that goal and we'll be working earnestly to get that done,” Yakubowski said.

Jeff Jorgenson, the city’s transportation manager, says the city’s immediate focus is resuming transit service with negotiations to come later.

"The two parties are quite a ways apart. The city has put an offer forward as did ATU, and there's just quite a gap between the two, so negotiations are going to take a backseat for just a moment while we get transit back up and running to what people expect it to be,” Jorgenson said.

Council met Monday to approve free transit service for the remainder of October and to refund UPass, Ecopass, and other long-term bus passes for the month at an estimated cost to the city of $450,000.

City administration said a report on the total cost of the lockout will be released by the end of the calendar year.