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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.

Scope of service[]

Within Westchester[]

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
  • 63 Scarsdale-White Plains
  • 66 Mercy College/Dobbs Ferry-Ardsley-Scarsdale-New Rochelle
  • 76 Rye-Port Chester via Playland Park

Summer service[]

  • 75 Rye RR Station-Playland Park
  • 91 Playland-New Rochelle-Mount Vernon-Yonkers

Bus to rail[]

These routes operate weekday rush hours only.

  • 10 Croton-Yorktown-Cortlandt Town Center
  • 18 Peekskill-Hudson Valley Hospital-Beach Shopping Center
  • 31 Peekskill-Indian Point
  • 34 Hartsdale-Orchard Hill
  • 38 Hartsdale-Westway
  • 39 Hartsdale-Ardsley Square
  • 64 Scarsdale-Green Knolls
  • 65 Scarsdale-Longview
  • 66 Dobbs Ferry Railroad Station-Ardsley Square
  • 70 Larchmont Railroad Station-Bonnie Briar
  • 71 Larchmont Railroad Station-Larchmont Manor

Express/Limited Stops[]

Except for 9 which operates Weekdays, and 78 which operates seven days a week, all of these routes operate weekday rush hours only.

  • 1X Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-Westchester Community College & Westchester County Medical Center
  • 3 Van Cortlandt Park-Yonkers-White Plains-Purchase
  • 9 Yonkers RR-South Westchester Executive Park
  • 11 White Plains-Elmsford-Ossining-Croton
  • 17 Peekskill/Montrose-White Plains
  • 21 Bedford Park/Woodlawn-White Plains via Central Park Avenue
  • 27 White Plains-Elmsford-Cross Westchester Executive Park
  • 41 Wakefield-Mount Vernon-White Plains-Westchester County Medical Center via Post Road
  • 43 Wakefield-Mount Vernon-Westchester County Medical Center via Sprain Brook Parkway
  • 62 Fordham via Boston Post Road-New Rochelle-White Plains
  • 77 White Plains-Jefferson Valley-Carmel (Taconic Express)
  • 78 Getty Square/Yonkers-Stew Leonard's via Tuckahoe Road
  • BxM4C Manhattan-White Plains via Central Park Avenue
  • BxM4D Sesame place

Shuttle Service[]

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
  • F Loop White Plains-Tarrytown
  • H Loop White Plains-Armonk

Retired Fleet[]

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

Year Manufacturer Model Length (ft) Width (in) Seating Wheelchair accessible Engine Numbers Retired Notes
1978 GMC RTS-03 TH-7603 35 96 Transit No Detroit Diesel 6V71 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 No Detroit Diesel 6V71 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 No MAN 601-661 2002 These were Bee Line's first articulated buses and were used throughout southern Westchester County.
1986-1987 MCI 102A2 40 102 Suburban No Detroit Diesel 6V92TA 901-938 2009 These buses were primarily for the BxM4C, 17, and 77 routes, and were Bee Line's first 102-inch wide buses.
1989 Flxible Metro-B 40102-6T 40 102 Transit No Detroit Diesel 6V92TA 760-874 2006 These buses were the first 102-inch wide transit-style buses.
1989 Flxible Metro-B 40102-6C 40 102 Transit No Cummins L10 875-879 2001
1994 Startrans Supreme Senator 25 96 Transit Yes Navistar 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 27 96 Transit Yes Navistar T444E 311 2000 This bus would be the only Orion 2 ever ordered. It was used on bus-to-rail shuttles.
1997 Startrans Supreme Senator 25 96 Transit Yes Navistar T444E 313-332 2004 These buses expanded the shuttle fleet.
1999 Startrans Supreme Senator 25 96 Transit Yes Navistar T444E 333-355 2005 These buses expanded the shuttle fleet, and were replacements for the first 11 shuttle vans.


Active Fleet[]

Year Manufacturer Model Length (ft) Width (in) Seating Engine Transmission Numbers
1995-1996 Orion 05.501 40 102 Transit Detroit Diesel 50 Allison B400R **401-484
2002 Neoplan AN460 60 102 Transit Detroit Diesel 60 Allison B500R 501-578
2002 Orion 05.505 32 96 Commuter Detroit Diesel 50 Allison B400R 101-115
2005 Coach & Equipment Phoenix 25 96 Commuter Navistar VT365 Allison 2000 301-318
2006 Orion 05.505 32 96 Commuter Detroit Diesel 50 Allison B400R 116-136
2006-2007 Orion 05.501 40 102 Transit Cummins ISM Allison B400R 601-710
2006 Orion 07.501 Hybrid 40 102 Transit Cummins ISB-02 BAE HybriDrive **201-204
2005 Coach & Equipment Phoenix 25 96 Commuter MaxxForce 7 Allison 2000 319-320
2008 Orion 05.501 40 102 Suburban Cummins ISL Allison B400R 800-830
2009 NABI 40-LFW Low Floor Electric Hybrid 40 102 Transit Cummins ISL Allison EP-40 Hybrid Drive *205-315
*Currently being delivered
  • Currently being transferred to MTA Bus Company of New York

External links[]

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