Bee-Line Bus System

From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project

Typical Bee-line transit bus

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 ageis 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 (16 and 18) and Route 76 (Port Chester-Rye Transit). 2003 riderhsip for Bee-Line buses was 33.7 million^[1]

1 Scope of service
- 1.1 Within Westchester
- 1.2 Outside Westchester
2 2005 Strike
3 Routes
4 Fleet
5 References
6 External links

Scope of service

Within Westchester

A Bee Line Orion VII HEV in Mount Vernon.

The system's 57 routes are mostly concentrated in the more urban southern portion of the county, with more sparse service in the northern part of the county, with service concentrated 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.^[2]

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.^[2] The entire fleet is scheduled to be equipped with fareboxes that accept MetroCards, along with a fare increase to US$2.00 by late Spring 2007. The BxM4C fare will decrease to US$5.00, on par with other MTA express buses. ^[1] MetroCard is currently scheduled to debut on Bee-Line on April 1.^[3]

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 wasstandstill 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.Template:Fact

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^[4]

Routes

The following is a listing of routes run by Bee-Line.^[2] 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 accesible except for the BxM4C and for some service during the rush hour.

Local service

1 The Bronx-Yonkers via Broadway
1C The Bronx-Yonkers-Westchester Medical Center
1T The Bronx-Yonkers-Tarrytown
1W The Bronx-Yonkers-White Plains
2 The Bronx-Tudor Woods via Broadway
4 The Bronx-Yonkers via McLean Avenue
5 Yonkers-White Plains-Harrison
6 Yonkers-White Plains-Pleasantville
7 Yonkers-Mount Vernon-New Rochelle
8 Mount St. Vincent-Yonkers-Tuckahoe
9 North Yonkers-Yonkers RR Station
12 Yorktown-Purchase-White Plains
13 Ossining-Tarrytown-Port Chester
14 Peekskill-Ossining-White Plains
15 Peekskill-Yorktown-White Plains
16 Peekskill-Yorktown
19 Ossining-Katonah
20 The Bronx-White Plains
23 Yonkers-Alexander Street

25 The Bronx-Yonkers via Cross County
26 The Bronx-Yonkers-Bronxville
30 Yonkers-Bronxville-New Rochelle
32 Yonkers Loop
40 Mount Vernon-White Plains-Westchester Medical Center
42 The Bronx-Mount Vernon-New Rochelle
45 Eastchester-New Rochelle-Pelham Bay
45Q Top-of-the-Ridge-New Rochelle
52 The Bronx-Mount Vernon-Bronxville
53 Mount Vernon-Chester Heights
54 Mount Vernon Local
55 The Bronx-Mount Vernon-Yonkers
60 The Bronx-New Rochelle-White Plains
61 The Bronx-New Rochelle-Port Chester
63 Scarsdale-White Plains
66 Dobbs Ferry-Scarsdale-New Rochelle
76 Rye-Port Chester
78 Getty Square-Stew Leonard's Drive

Summer service

75 Port Chester RR Station-Rye RR Station-Playland Park

91 Playland-New Rochelle-Mount Vernon-Yonkers
92 Playland-White Plains

Bus to rail

These routes operate weekday rush hours only.

10 Croton Commuter
18 Peekskill Commuter
34 Orchard Hill Commuter

38 Secor Road Commuter
39 Ridge Road Commuter
64 Green Knolls Commuter

65 Longview Commuter
70 Bonnie Briar Commuter
71 Larchmont Manor Commuter

Express/limited stops

Except for the BxM4C, all of these routes operate weekday rush hours only.

3 The Bronx-White Plains-Purchase
11 White Plains-Ossining-Croton
17 Peekskill-White Plains
21 The Bronx-White Plains (Limited)
27 Eastview-Skyline Drive

41 The Bronx-Mount Vernon-White Plains-Westchester Medical Center
62 The Bronx-New Rochelle-White Plains
77 White Plains-Yorktown-Carmel (Taconic Express)
BxM4C White Plains-Manhattan Express

Shuttle Service

Except for Loop G, these routes operate weekday rush hours only.

A Loop Westchester Ave.
B Loop Westchester Ave.
C Loop Westchester Ave.

D Loop Westchester Ave.-Red Oak Lane
E Loop Manhattanville Rd.
F Loop White Plains-Tarrytown Rd.

G Loop Westchester Medical Center
H Loop White Plains-King St.
T Loop Tarrytown-White Plains Rd.

Fleet

This list only includes buses purchased in the Bee Line bus system era.

Year	Manufacturer	Model	Length (ft)	Width (in)	Seating		Engine	Numbers	Retired	Notes
1978	GMC	RTS-03 TH-7603	35	96	Transit	Template:Unicode (originally had lifts)	DD 6V71N	101-106 189-190 194-205	1996	Originally ordered for 11 operators. These buses were delivered with wheelchair lifts, but they were later removed.
1978	GMC	RTS-03 TH-8603	40	96	Transit	Template:Unicode (originally had lifts)	DD 6V71N	107-188 191-193	1996	Originally ordered for 6 operators. These buses were delivered with wheelchair lifts, but they were later removed.
1983	MAN	SG-310	60	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	MAN	601-661	2002	These were Bee Line's first articulated buses and were used throughout southern Westchester County.
1986	MCI	102A2	40	102	Suburban	Template:Unicode	DD 6V92TA	901-928	Active	These buses are primarily for the BxM4C, 17, and 77 routes, and were Bee Line's first 102-inch wide buses.
1987	MCI	102A2	40	102	Suburban	Template:Unicode	DD 6V92TA	929-938	Active	These buses are primarily for the BxM4C, 17, and 77 routes.
1989	Flxible	Metro-B 40102-6T	40	102	Transit	Template:Unicode (remaining backup fleet to be retrofitted with lifts)	DD 6V92TA	760-874	8 acitve	778, 810, 814, 819, 829, 832, 837, and 851 are being held as a backup fleet, but may see rush hour service.
1989	Flxible	Metro-B 40102-6C	40	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	CUM L10	875-879	2001	These were Bee Line's first buses with four-cycle engines.
1994	Startrans Supreme	Senator	25	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	NAV T444E	301-310	1999	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.
1994	Orion	02.501	26	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	NAV T444E	311	2000	This bus would be the only Orion 2 ever ordered. It was used on bus-to-rail shuttles.
1995	Orion	05.501	40	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	DD 50	401-450	Active	These buses are used throughout the county. Replacements for the RTS buses.
1996	Orion	05.501	40	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	DD 50	451-484	Active	Replacements for the RTS buses.
1997	Startrans Supreme	Senator	25	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	NAV T444E	313-332	2004	These buses expanded the shuttle fleet.
1999	Startrans Supreme	Senator	25	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	NAV T444E	333-355	2005	These buses expanded the shuttle fleet, and were replacements for the first 11 shuttle vans.
2002	Neoplan	AN460	60	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	DD 60	501-578	Active	These buses replaced the MAN artics, and expanded the articulated bus fleet.
2003	Orion	05.504	32	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	DD 50	101-115	Active	These buses replaced the 1997 Startrans Supreme vans. These buses also run later service on the 12 and 19 lines, and provide the bulk of service on Routes 9, 23, 66 and 78. These are also shuttle buses.
2005	Orion	05.504	32	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	DD 50	116-136	Active	These buses expanded the shuttle fleet, and replaced the 1999 Startrans Supreme fleet. These buses also run on Routes 12, 16, and 19.
2005	Coach & Equipment	Phoenix	25	96	Transit	Template:Unicode	NAV VT365	301-318	Active	These buses helped to expand the shuttle fleet.
2006	Orion	05.501	40	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	CUM ISM	601-704	Active	These buses are the replacements for the Flxible Meto-Bs.
2006	Orion	07.501	40	102	Transit	Template:Unicode	CUM ISB BAE HybriDrive	201-204	Active	These buses are Bee Line's very first low floor buses, and first ever diesel-electric hybrid buses, used in southern Westchester County.
2007	MCI	D4000CL	40	102	Suburban	Template:Unicode	CAT C13^[5]	Unknown	N/A	These buses will replace the MCI 102A2s. The initial order will be for 28 buses, expandable to 38, to replace the 102A2s.