Varsity Bus Company is a former school bus operator in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. This company was established in 2003 when it acquired some of the school bus routes that had been operated by Varsity Transit, a sister company that had operated from 1965 to 2003. Varsity ceased operations by the 2010s, and the headquarters of Varsity were later used by Total Transportation and L&M Bus Corp. From 1979 until 2005, Varsity Transit affiliate Command Bus Company operated two local and seven express transit bus routes, routes that are now operated by

MTA Bus Company MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

. Varsity Transit and Command Bus Company were 40-percent owned by

Green Bus Lines Green Bus Lines, also referred to simply as Green Lines, was a private bus company in New York City, United States. It operated local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 9, 2006, when the city-operated MTA Bus Compan ...

, 40-percent owned by

Triboro Coach Triboro Coach Corporation was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and express routes to Manhattan until February 20, 2006, when MTA Bus took over all of its bus operations and services. History Salvat ...

, and 20-percent owned by

Jamaica Central Railways Jamaica Buses, Inc., also known as Jamaica Bus Lines or the Jamaica Bus Company, was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 30, 2006, when the MTA Bus Compan ...

. Varsity Bus Company is owned by former executives of Green Bus Lines.

Command Bus

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Command Bus traces its history to Pioneer Bus Corporation, established in 1954 by three small

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

and

charter bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

operators. Until 1960, when it obtained a

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for the current B100, it only operated school, charter, and

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

buses. Several express buses were implemented in 1972. Command Bus Company was incorporated October 22, 1979 by the late Mr. William Cooper (1895-1985) to resume bus service following a long

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

at Pioneer, which went out of the express and local bus business when the strike started. Like its corporate owners Green Bus Lines, Triboro Coach, and Jamaica Central Railways, the late Mr. Jerome Cooper (1928-2015) was the chairman of the board of both Varsity Transit and Command Bus Company. Originally co-housed with Varsity Transit, the operations of Command were eventually moved into a new

NYCDOT 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 ...

facility at

Spring Creek Depot MTA Regional Bus Operations operates local and express buses serving New York City in the United States out of 29 bus depots. These depots are located in all five boroughs of the city, with the exception of one located in nearby Yonkers in Westch ...

, 12755 Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn (this garage was leased by MTA Bus following the transfer of Command Bus Company routes to MTA Bus in 2005), it was previously built and owned by 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 ...

before being sold to MTA Bus in early 2009). In 1988, two Command buses were fitted by the Brooklyn Union Gas Company with engines which operated on compressed natural gas (CNG). By the mid-1990s, many of the buses operated by Command ran on CNG.

Bus routes

Command operated the following routes, which after the MTA takeover continued to be operated out of the

Spring Creek Bus Depot MTA Regional Bus Operations operates local and express buses serving New York City in the United States out of 29 bus depots. These depots are located in all five boroughs of the city, with the exception of one located in nearby Yonkers in Westc ...

: In the mid-1990s, Command operated "Gotham Flyer" service, using unfilled buses to carry express passengers between Midtown and Wall Street.

Fleet

* 1986 GM RTS-04/06 * 1988-89 MCI Classic TC40-102A * 1994 TMC RTS-06 CNG * 1998 ORION V CNG

References

External links

All Franchise Private Bus Lines Now Operated by MTA
{{NYC surface transit Command Bus Company only. Bus transportation in New York City Defunct public transport operators in the United States American companies established in 1954 Transport companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in New York City School bus operators