This article is about the Westchester County (New York) bus system. For the former Nassau County (New York) bus operator, see Bee-Line, Incorporated.
The Bee-Line Bus System is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Transportation and operated, on contract (except for three routes), by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc.. The current existence of Bee-Line dates back to the late 1970s when thirteen private providers began running a unified system under the aegis of Westchester County with Liberty Lines either buying out or obtaining franchises for the other twelve. The three routes not run by Liberty Lines, Routes 16, 18, and 78, are run by Peekskill-based Peekskill Transit Inc. A 2004 estimate of ridership showed that an average of fifty-five thousand (55,000) people ride on the system daily.
The system's 57 routes are mostly concentrated in the more urban southern portion of the county, though the more rural northern portion does have service, particularly near its more populated areas such as Peekskill, Ossining, or Mount Kisco. White Plains, the county seat and most centrally located city, is a major transportation hub, with many routes converging on the city's TransCenter. Yonkers, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, the other major cities in the county (all located at the southern end), are also well served. All but the county's smallest, most rural communities have at least rush hour service.
Outside Westchester[]
Because Westchester County borders on the New York City borough of The Bronx, many of the Bee-Line's routes operate into the Bronx, offering Westchester residents connections to the New York City Subway system. Every subway line in The Bronx is served by at least one Bee-Line route. The Bee-Line System also operates an express route (the BxM4C) from White Plains, Greenburgh and Yonkers along Central Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan (return trips operate on Madison Avenue within Manhattan). While the service is largley used by Westchester residents, passengers are allowed to use buses for trips wholly within The Bronx as well. In addition, route 12 (Yorktown-Purchase-White Plains) briefly enters Connecticut, and follows the same practices. The entire fleet is scheduled to be equipped with fareboxes that accept MetroCards, along with a fare increase to $2.00 by late Spring 2007. The BxM4C fare will decrease to $5.00, on par with other MTA express buses. [1] MetroCard is currently scheduled to debut on Bee-Line on April 1st.[2]
2005 Strike[]
On March 3, 2005, employees of Liberty Lines went on strike three days after their contract with their union, the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) expired; the breaking point of the strike was employee demands regarding retirement age and benefits (Liberty Lines did provide a compromise on the former, albeit in trade for other benefit givebacks that the union did not accept). Service was suspended on all Bee-Line routes except for the non-Liberty 16, 18, and 78 as well as ParaTransit (a Bee Line service for the handicapped). The strike was standstill for over a month, significantly affecting school attendance in Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, where Liberty Lines handled a majority of the 3 districts' school busing needs and bringing effects to the poorest residents of Westchester County who often cannot afford taxis or Metro-North trains which lead to many having to quit their jobs. Employees (who were paid from a "strike fund" for the month of March) and Liberty Lines management (who still received payments from the county) were not adversely affected though.
On April 19, a tentative agreement was reached between Liberty Lines and the union; the next day, the striking union members met at the Portuguese-American Community Center in Yonkers and approved the settlement by a margin of 3 to 1. Bus service resumed Saturday, April 23, with fares being waived for all riders through the end of May and March "Passports" being honored through the month of June. Ridership saw a near-doubling versus the prior year in the month of May and for the most part has had a noticeable increase since then[3]
Routes[]
The following is a listing of routes run by Bee-Line. At bus stops in the Bronx, the routes are prefixed with a "W" to signify "Westchester County" to fall in line with other nomenclature used by the MTA. They also documented as such in various MTA and New York City Government media.
All service is wheelchair accessible except for the BxM4C, 43, and 77, all of which were finally made wheelchair accessible in 2010.
Local service[]
1 Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-Yonkers/Hastings Boundary
1C Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-Westchester Medical Center
1T Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-Tarrytown via Dobbs Ferry
1W Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-White Plains via Elmsford
2 Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-South Westchester Executive Park
4 Bedford Park-Yonkers via McLean Avenue
5 Yonkers-White Plains via Elmsford-Harrison
6 Yonkers-White Plains via Dobbs Ferry-Pleasantville
7 Yonkers-Mount Vernon-New Rochelle
8 Mount Saint Vincent-Yonkers-Tuckahoe
12 Armonk-Purchase-White Plains
13 Ossining-Tarrytown-Port Chester via Tarrytown Road, White Plains, and Westchester Avenue
14 Peekskill-Ossining-White Plains via Elmsford
15 Peekskill-Yorktown-White Plains via Pleasantville
16 Peekskill-Jefferson Valley-Baldwin Place
19 Ossining-Pleasantville-Mount Kisco-Katonah
20 Bedford Park/Woodlawn-Cross County-White Plains via Central Park Avenue
25 238th Street-Yonkers via Cross County
26 238th Street-Bronxville via Cross County
30 Yonkers-Bronxville-New Rochelle
32 Yonkers-Riverdale via Nodine Hill
36 the square 42 st
40 Wakefield-Mount Vernon-White Plains-Westchester Medical Center
42 Wakefield & 233rd Street-Mount Vernon-New Rochelle via Pelham Manor
45 Eastchester-New Rochelle-Pelham Bay
45Q Quaker Ridge Road-New Rochelle
52 Secor Housing-Mount Vernon-Bronxville
53 Mount Vernon RR-Chester Heights
54 Mount Vernon RR-South Fulton avenue
55 Dyre Avenue-Mount Vernon-Cross County via Fleetwood RR Station
60 Fordham via Boston Post Road-New Rochelle-White Plains via Mamaroneck
61 Fordham via Boston Post Road-New Rochelle-Port Chester via Harrison
These buses were the first buses for rail-to-bus commuter shuttle loop routes. These were also Bee Line's first buses to have wheelchair accessibility for the duration of their lives.