Bee-Line Bus System
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Bee-Line #212 arrives in Yonkers from the Tuckahoe train station, due south to the county line. | |
Slogan | The Way To Go |
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Parent | Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation |
Founded | May 1, 1978 |
Headquarters |
100 East 1 Street, 9th Floor Mt. Vernon, NY 10550 |
Locale | Westchester County, New York |
Service area | Westchester County, northern Bronx County, New York County, and southeastern Putnam County part of Fairfield County (Route 12) |
Service type | Local, express, bus-to-rail shuttle buses |
Routes | 59 |
Fleet |
329 fixed route 91 paratransit |
Daily ridership | 111,316 (2013) [1] |
Fuel type | Diesel, Diesel-electric hybrid |
Operator |
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Chief executive | Jay Pisco, P.E., Commissioner |
Website | Bee-Line Bus System |
The Bee-Line Bus System, branded on the buses in lowercase as the bee-line system, is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation. It was founded on May 1, 1978, by the then Westchester County Department of Transportation to consolidate the bus system with thirteen private bus companies and has been given control over the buses, fare structure, routes, and services. By the 1980s, the bus system had an identity problem in who was providing the service. On May 19, 1987, WCDOT officially named the bus service "The Bee-Line System" with a 'bee-in-flight' mascot.[2] The Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation currently contracts out to two private bus companies to provide service in Westchester County and the surrounding counties: Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc., the main company that either bought out or obtained franchises from the other twelve bus companies over the years, operates buses on all but three bus routes; and Cortlandt Manor-based P.T.L.A. Enterprise, Inc., a small company that operates buses on routes 16, 18, and 31.
Scope of service
Within Westchester
The system's 60 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 slightly populated areas such as Mount Kisco, Ossining, or Peekskill, with paratransit service only in areas such as eastern Bedford, Lewisboro, North Salem, and Pound Ridge. White Plains, the county seat and most centrally located city, is a major transportation hub, with many routes converging on the city's TransCenter. Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers, the other major cities of the county (all located at the southern end), are the best served. All but the county's smallest, most rural communities have at least rush hour service.[3]
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 service in the Bronx is served by at least one Bee-Line route. The Bee-Line System also operates an express route BxM4C from White Plains, Greenburgh, Hartsdale, Scarsdale and Yonkers along Central Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan (return trips operate on Madison Avenue within Manhattan). Bee-Line operates mostly closed-door service in the Bronx (local service is not provided solely for travel within Bronx; appropriate MTA Regional Bus Operations service must be used instead). The only exceptions are routes 60 and 61 along Boston Road, routes 40, 41, 42 & 43 north of the Wakefield – 241st Street station, route 45 through Pelham Bay Park, and route 54 on Mundy Lane near the Westchester border, since no other bus routes travel entirely through these areas.
In addition, route 12 (Armonk-Purchase-White Plains) briefly enters Greenwich, Connecticut along King Street, in which it makes stops in Greenwich, CT and Rye Brook, NY (along the NY-CT State Border). Route 77 enters Putnam County to serve the US Route 6 corridor between Baldwin Place and Carmel. Route 16 briefly enters Putnam to serve the Mahopac Village Centre.[3]
Fares
All fares require exact change or MetroCard. All transfers are free with payment of fare. Dollar bills are not accepted on any Bee-Line System buses.[4]
Route | Full fare | Senior/ disabled fare |
Transfer All transfers good for 2 hours |
7-day unlimited ride MetroCard | 30-day unlimited ride MetroCard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
All except BxM4C | $2.75 | $1.35 |
|
$32.00 $16.00 with Reduced Fare ID |
$116.50 $58.25 with Reduced Fare ID |
BxM4C | $7.50 | $3.75 (Off peak only) |
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No Unlimited-Ride MetroCards accepted | |
Notes:
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Bee-Line Bus started accepting MetroCard on April 1, 2007.[5] The fare for the BxM4C went down from $7 to $5. The regular fare was $2 for MetroCard, and $1.75 if paid in cash. Dollar bills, passports, and ticket books were no longer accepted for fare payment after this date.[6] MetroCard Vans made stops on heavily used routes to help people get ready for the MetroCard.[7]
Fleet
Active fleet
This roster only lists buses and shuttle vans used in fixed route service. Paratransit vehicles are not listed. All buses are wheelchair accessible.
Year | Builder and model name |
Photo | Length | Width | Powertrain (Engine and transmission or propulsion) |
Numbers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001- 2002 |
Neoplan USA AN460 (articulated) |
60 ft (18.29 m) | 102 in (2.59 m) |
|
501-578 |
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2005 | DaimlerChrysler Orion 05.505 |
32 ft (9.75 m) | 96 in (2.44 m) |
|
116-136 |
| |
2006 | DaimlerChrysler Orion 05.501 |
40 ft (12.19 m) | 102 in (2.59 m) |
|
601-704 |
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2006 | DaimlerChrysler Orion 07.501 (semi low floor electric hybrid) |
40 ft (12.19 m) | 102 in (2.59 m) |
|
201-204 |
| |
2008 | Daimler Buses North America Orion 05.501 (single-door, commuter coach) |
40 ft (12.19 m) | 102 in (2.59 m) |
|
801-830 |
| |
2009 | North American Bus Industries 40LFW (semi low floor electric hybrid) |
40 ft (12.19 m) | 102 in (2.59 m) |
|
205-299 |
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2018 | New Flyer Industries Xcelsior (XDE60) (semi low-floor, articulated) |
61 ft (18.59 m) | 102 in (2.59 m) |
|
302 |
| |
Past fleet
Year | Builder and model name |
Length (feet) |
Width (inches) |
Engine/Transmission | Numbers | Retired | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | General Motors Corporation RTS-03 TH-7603 |
35 | 96 | Detroit Diesel 8V71N
Alison V730 |
101-106, 189-190, 194-205 |
1996 |
| |
1978 | General Motors Corporation RTS-03 TH-8603 |
40 | 96 | Detroit Diesel 8V71N
Alison V730 |
107-188, 191-193 |
1996 |
| |
1983 | MAN SG-310-16.5-2A (articulated) |
60 | 102 | MAN D2566 MLUM
Renk-Doromat 874B |
600-661 | 2002 |
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1986- 1987 |
Motor Coach Industries 102A2 |
40 | 102 | Detroit Diesel 6V92TA
Alison HTB-748 |
901-936 | 2009 | Last non-accessible Bee-Line buses on the active roster. | |
1989 | Flxible Metro-B 40102-6T |
40 | 102 | Detroit Diesel 6V92TA
Voith D863.3 |
760-874 | 2007 | These were Bee Line's last buses without wheelchair lifts. | |
1989 | Flxible Metro-B 40102-6C |
40 | 102 | Cummins L10
Voith D863.3 |
875-879 | 2001 | These were Bee Line's first buses with four-cycle engines. | |
1994 | Startrans Supreme Senator |
25 | 96 | Navistar T444E
Ford 4R100 4 speed |
301-310 | 1999 |
| |
1994 | Orion Bus Industries 02.501 |
25.92 | 96 | Navistar T444E
Allison AT545 |
311 | 2000 | This bus would be the only Orion 2 ever ordered. It was used on bus-to-rail shuttles. | |
1995 | Advanced Vehicle Systems AVS22 |
22 | 102 | Solectria AC55 | 312 | Unknown | This was Bee-Line's only electric-powered bus. It was used for the Shoppers Shuttle service within White Plains. | |
1995- 1996 |
Orion Bus Industries 05.501 |
40 | 102 | Detroit Diesel series 50
Allison B-400R Gen II |
401-484 | 2009 |
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1997 | Startrans Supreme Senator |
25 | 96 | Navistar T444E
Ford 4R100 4 speed |
313-332 | 2004 | These buses expanded the shuttle fleet. | |
1999 | Startrans Supreme Senator |
25 | 96 | Navistar T444E
Ford 4R100 4 speed |
333-361 | 2005 | These buses expanded the shuttle fleet, and were replacements for the first 11 shuttle vans. | |
2002 | DaimlerChrysler Orion 05.505 |
32 | 96 | Detroit Diesel series 50 EGR
Allison B-400R Gen III |
101-115 | 2012 |
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2005 | Coach and Equipment Phoenix |
25 | 91 | Navistar VT365
Alison 2000 PTS |
301-318 | 2010 |
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2007 | Coach and Equipment Phoenix |
25 | 91 | MaxxForce 7
Alison 2000 PTS |
319-320 | 2010 | Retired without replacement with 2010 service cuts. |
Historical Honors on Fleet
In October 2004, then-Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano launched a month-long celebration of local history by unveiling the top 15 winning names, which were applied on all of the 2002 Orion 05.505 buses. From 2005 to January 2012, these buses each bore the name of a person, place, or thing that played a role in the development of Westchester County.
Bus Number | Named after |
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101 | The Toonerville Trolley |
102 | Rosa Parks |
103 | Amelia Earhart |
104 | Ella Fitzgerald |
105 | Horace Greeley |
106 | John Jay |
107 | Old Bet |
108 | The Spy Catchers |
109 | Eliza A. Horton |
110 | General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell |
111 | Michael Schwerner |
112 | Washington Irving |
113 | Chief Gramatan |
114 | The Dragon Coaster |
115 | Elisha Graves Otis |
References
- ↑ "National Transit Database Program filing for The Bee-Line System, 2013" (PDF). (139 KB)
- ↑ "Variable Fares for Elderly & Handicapped Transit Riders: An Analysis of Westchester County" (PDF). (1.25 MB)
- 1 2 "Bee-Line System map" (PDF). transportation.westchestergov.com. 2011. (4.64 MB)
- ↑ Fares and MetroCard
- ↑ "MTA NYC Transit MetroCard - Westchester Bee-Line buses". mta.info. April 2007. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ↑ "All About MetroCard in Westchester". westchestergov.com. April 2007. Archived from the original on August 31, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ↑ "MetroCard Van Schedule". westchestergov.com. April 2007. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Westchester legislators OK new Bee-Line buses". lohud.
- 1 2 3 4 "Community Buses Roll Into Maine". MaineDOT. January 24, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ "Connecticut Public Transportation Commission" (PDF). (97.9 KB)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bee-Line Bus System. |