Liberty Lines Transit is the owner of local bus routes in

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 ...

, and operates these and other local bus routes under contract as part of the

Bee-Line Bus System The Westchester County Bee-Line 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. Histor ...

. It had been affiliated with Liberty Lines Express, the owner of express bus routes in New York City, which operated those express bus routes under contract to the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Departm ...

. The company's

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

are located in

Yonkers, New York 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 ...

. It currently operates around 320 vehicles, all owned by Westchester County.

Liberty Lines Transit, Inc.

The origins of Liberty Lines Transit, Inc., go back to the Bernacchia Brothers bus company. In 1953 Liberty Coaches, Inc., was formed, and the brothers transferred their operating rights to the new company. In 1969, Bus Associates, Inc., was formed and served as a holding company for Liberty Coaches, Inc., and other bus companies that would be acquired. Subsequently added as subsidiaries of Bus Associates, Inc., were companies such as West Fordham Transportation Corp. and Westchester Street Transportation Company, Inc. in 1969, Yonkers Transit Corp. in 1972, Riverdale Transit Corp. in 1975, and Club Transportation Corp. in 1981. In 1982, the subsidiaries operating local bus routes in Westchester County were merged into Liberty Lines Transit, Inc. Since then, the routes of Hartsdale Bus Company, Inc., were acquired in 1999.

Liberty Lines Express, Inc.

Liberty Lines Express Inc., from 1984 to 2005, operated express bus service from

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Most of the express routes had been initiated by Riverdale Transit Corp., which began service on August 19, 1968. One express route had been initiated by Pelham Parkway Bus Service, Inc., a subsidiary of Bus Associates, Inc., in April 1971. In November 1975 Bus Associates, Inc., acquired Riverdale Transit Corp. In 1984, the two express bus company subsidiaries were merged into Liberty Lines Express, Inc., and continued operating through January 2, 2005. Liberty Lines Express, Inc., sold its operating rights to the City of New York, which through a memorandum of understanding with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to have the express routes operated by MTA Bus Company. This service is now run by MTA Bus, effective January 3, 2005, and operating out of its Yonkers Bus Depot. Those routes were: *BxM1 East Midtown Manhattan - Riverdale (formerly Riverdale Transit Inc.) *BxM2 West Midtown Manhattan - Riverdale (formerly Riverdale Transit Inc.) *BxM3 Midtown Manhattan - Getty Square, Yonkers in Westchester, via Broadway in the Bronx, and Sedgwick Av. (formerly Riverdale Transit Inc.) *BxM4A Midtown Manhattan - Bedford Park (discontinued under MTA Bus in 2010) (formerly Riverdale Transit Inc.) *BxM4B Midtown Manhattan - Woodlawn, via Grand Concourse and Katonah Av. (now BxM4) (formerly Riverdale Transit Inc.) *BxM11 Midtown Manhattan - Wakefield, via White Plains Road (formerly Pelham Parkway Express Inc.) *BxM18 Financial District, Manhattan - Riverdale

In popular culture

*A Liberty Lines bus is featured in many scenes in 1984's '' Moscow on the Hudson''. It is used to transport a Russian circus company around NYC, especially to Bloomingdale's where Robin Williams' character defects.GMC "Buffalo Bus" owned by Liberty Lines; Moscow on the Hudson (1984) (IMCDb.org)
/ref> Also, retired busses were used in the Schwarzenegger movie ''

Red Heat '' Red heat'' is a practice of using colours to determine the temperature of metal Red Heat may also refer to: * ''Red Heat'' (1985 film), a 1985 film starring Linda Blair * ''Red Heat'' (1988 film), a 1988 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger a ...

'', a movie supposedly set in Chicago.

References

External links

Liberty LinesBee-Line Bus System
{{NYC surface transit Surface transportation in Greater New York Transport companies established in 1953 Defunct public transport operators in the United States, Liberty Lines Express, Inc. only Bus companies of the United States Companies based in Yonkers, New York Bus transportation in New York City Transportation in Yonkers, New York Bus transportation in New York (state) 1953 establishments in New York (state) Transportation companies based in New York (state)