The strike by SEPTA workers that had paralyzed much of the region since last week ended this morning with a signing of an agreement by SEPTA officials and leaders of Transport Workers Union Local 234.

Buses, subways and trolleys, idled since 3 a.m. Tuesday, are running in time for this morning's rush.

The end to the six-day walkout came in dramatic fashion, as union leaders joined SEPTA officials about 12:45 this morning at news conference outside the Center City office of Gov. Rendell, who brokered the deal a day after he said was giving up on efforts to settle the strike.

Attending the news conference were U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who has mediated SEPTA strikes in the past, Mayor Nutter and Local 234 president Willie Brown.

Brady said he never stopped talking to the union, which over the weekend backed off from an agreement reached late on Friday.

"Negotiations never broke off. We never stopped talking," Brady said. "Some numbers had to be massaged. . . . Everybody cooperated."

Rendell, who had blamed union leaders for the collapse of a tentative agreement reached Friday, had only praise for TWU president Willie Brown this morning.

"Willie Brown did his job well for his members," he said. "That's the nature of the collective bargaining process."

Mayor Nutter said the most important thing was that "the system will be up and running" this morning.

Brown nodded in agreement.

After the collapse of Friday's agreement, Rendell had threatened to withdraw nearly $7 million in state funds to pay for bonuses of $1250 per worker.

By signing the pact, the TWU, which represents 5,100 drivers, operators and mechanics, preserved the bonuses.

The five-year contract also calls for a 2.5 percent raise in the second year, and a 3 percent raise in each of the final three years. It increases workers' contributions to the pension fund from the current 2 percent to 3 percent and increased the maximum pension to $30,000 a year from the current $27,000 a year.

The strike ended much as it started: in the middle of the night with many in the city unaware of what would await them in the morning.

Earlier yesterday, officials on both sides had made it clear that no new talks had been scheduled and that this morning's commute would be much like last week's: with the nearly one million riders who use SEPTA's City and Frontier Division buses and trolleys and the Broad Street Line and Market-Frankford El every weekday having to find alternatives.

The strike's impact was minimal yesterday, largely a day of leisure, with people taking advantage of balmy weather to hoof it to their destinations. Some churches set up car pools to get members to services.

Otherwise, the city seemed to take a breather from the angst. Not even a planned demonstration against Local 234 outside SEPTA headquarters on Market Street came off.

The strike appeared to have been settled late Friday, when Rendell and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) announced that a tentative agreement had been reached with the union.

On Saturday, however, Local 234 leadership rejected a contract offer that the governor and the mayor considered generous, given the current economic climate. Negotiators have not been back at the bargaining table since, and no new sessions have been scheduled.

Rendell and Mayor Nutter were angered that the union and SEPTA had reached what the governor called a handshake agreement - and the union balked.