Bee-Line Bus System
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The Westchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase as ''the bee-line system'', is a
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
system serving
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation.


History

The system 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 drawn by cartoonist Jack Davis. 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 Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
-based
Liberty Lines Transit, Inc. Liberty Lines Transit is the owner of local bus routes in Westchester County, New York, and operates these and other local bus routes under contract as part of the Bee-Line Bus System. It had been affiliated with Liberty Lines Express, the owner ...
, 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 Cortlandt Manor is a hamlet (New York), hamlet—an unincorporated section—of the Cortlandt, New York, town of Cortlandt in northern Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, roughly surrounding Peekskil ...
-based P.T.L.A. Enterprise, Inc., a small company that operates buses on routes 16, 18, and 31.


Scope of service

Most Bee-Line routes operate seven days a week. Before 2025, there was no service county-wide on two days of the calendar year,
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
(the fourth Thursday in November), and
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
(December 25).


Within Westchester

The system's 64 routes are mostly concentrated in the more urban southern portion of the county, with the cities of
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
,
New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...
, and
Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
receiving a high frequency of service. White Plains, the county seat and most centrally located city, is a major transportation hub with many routes converging on the city's TransCenter. Service in the northern portion of Westchester is sparse and is concentrated near slightly populated areas such as Mount Kisco, Ossining, or Peekskill. Areas such as Lewisboro, North Salem, and Pound Ridge receive paratransit service only. During the school year, special bus routes also operate. All but the county's smallest, most rural communities have at least
rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...
service.


Outside Westchester

Because Westchester County borders on the
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
of
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, many of the Bee-Line's routes operate into the Bronx, offering Westchester residents connections to
MTA New York City Transit The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
and subways; at least one Bee-Line route connects to each subway route serving the Bronx. The Bee-Line System also operates an express route, the BxM4C from White Plains, Greenburgh, Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Yonkers along Central Park Avenue to
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
(return trips operate on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
within Manhattan). Bee-Line operates mostly closed-door service in the Bronx (local service is not provided solely for travel within the Bronx; appropriate MTA Regional Bus Operations service must be used instead). The only exceptions are: * Routes 40, 41, 42 and 43, which run along White Plains Road north of the Wakefield – 241st Street subway terminal; * Route 45, which serves the
Pelham Bay Park Pelham Bay Park is a municipal park located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is, at , the largest public park in New York City. The park is more than three times the size of Manhattan's Central Park. The p ...
subway terminal, the Pelham Bay and Split Rock Golf Course, and the Bartow-Pell Mansion; * Route 54, which runs on Mundy Lane along the Bronx/Mount Vernon border, since no other bus routes travel entirely through these areas; * Routes 60 and 61, which run along US Route 1 ( East Fordham and
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
roads in the Bronx). In addition, Route 12 briefly enters
Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
along King Street, in which it makes stops in Greenwich and
Rye Brook, New York Rye Brook is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, within the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Rye (town), New Yo ...
along the New York/Connecticut border; Route 16 briefly enters Putnam County to serve the Mahopac Village Centre; and Route 77 enters Putnam County to serve the US Route 6 corridor between Mahopac and Carmel.


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.Fares and MetroCard
/ref> Bee-Line Bus started accepting MetroCard on April 1, 2007. 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. MetroCard Vans made stops on heavily used routes to help people get ready for the MetroCard. On July 23, 2019, it was announced that the Bee-Line bus fare system on all buses would be upgraded to the
OMNY OMNY ( , short for One Metro New York) is a contactless payment, contactless fare payment system, currently being implemented for use on transportation in New York City, public transit in the New York metropolitan area. OMNY can currently be u ...
fare system in 2021–2022, replacing the MetroCard. The Westchester County Department of Transportation states that "OMNY is targeted for introduction on the Bee-Line Bus System beginning in 2022 at the earliest." OMNY hasn't been installed , but is expected to be installed in 2025 to 2026. MetroCard will continue to be accepted by New York City Transit subways and buses and Bee-Line service until 2026, enabling Bee-Line passengers to have the option of using MetroCard or OMNY during the transition phase. By 2026, MetroCard will be discontinued and all Bee-Line passengers will then use OMNY. The Reduced-Fare MetroCard Program will also be converted over to OMNY. For certain periods during the summer and winter of 2022, the buses were fare-free. As of the summer of 2023, buses are fare free until Labor Day 2023.


Fleet


Active fleet

This roster only lists buses and shuttle vans used in fixed route service.
Paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...
vehicles are not listed. All buses are wheelchair accessible.


Past fleet


Future fleet

In February 2020, it was announced that Westchester County's Bee-Line Bus fleet would be expanding with 78 hybrid-electric 60-foot buses (all delivered by summer 2020), 106 hybrid-electric 40-foot buses and two 40-foot battery-electric buses – all built by New Flyer Industries – under a plan to have the entire transit bus fleet running on either fully electric or diesel-electric hybrid technology by 2025. As of July 2020, 106 40-foot diesel-electric buses and two 40-foot battery-electric are planned to be delivered between 2021 and 2025. Four 35-foot battery-electric buses are also planned to be delivered, totaling 6 battery-electric buses by 2025.


References


External links


Bee-Line Bus System


{{NYC surface transit 1978 establishments in New York (state) Bus transportation in New York (state) Paratransit services in the United States Surface transportation in Greater New York Transportation in Westchester County, New York Transportation in Yonkers, New York