PEABODY - The express bus from Peabody to Logan International Airport will continue for at least a year, Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry said yesterday.

Berry said he received word yesterday that Massport has come to terms with a private bus carrier for a one-year contract with extensions for more years.

"One year is definite," the Peabody state senator said.

Berry and other North Shore legislators lobbied to keep the service after Massport announced plans earlier this year to terminate the Logan Express from the North Shore on May 1. The bus run has lost $5 million since its inception in 2001, according to Massport.

"This is a big victory for my constituents and other citizens of the North Shore," Berry said.

The senator praised Massport for looking at different options and finding a way to cut costs without ending the service. It made no sense, he said, to eliminate the Logan Express when the state was trying to expand public transportation. In a major change that began a few weeks ago, Massport has switched from half-hour to hourly departures from the Logan Express terminal on Route 1 south