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The Bee Line System
Bee Line Orion 07.501 hybrid electric bus #203 in standard livery on the 55 line in Mt. Vernon. This bus is one of four hybrid electric buses owned by Westchester County.
Founded	1978
Headquarters	Mount Vernon, NY
Service Area	Westchester County, New York, part of The Bronx
Service Type	Local bus service
Routes	63
Fleet	350+
Daily Ridership	55,000 (approximate)
Operator	Various companies under contract
Chief Executive	Lawrence Salley, Commissioner
Website	Official Website

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 ageis 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 (16 and 18) and Route 76 (Port Chester-Rye Transit). 2003 riderhsip for Bee-Line buses was 33.7 million^[1]

Contents 1 Scope of service 1.1 Within Westchester 1.2 Outside Westchester 2 2005 Strike 3 Fares 4 Routes 5 Fleet 6 References 7 External links

The system's 63 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 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.^[2]

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.^[2] The entire fleet has been equipped with fareboxes accept MetroCards. The BxM4C fare decreased to US$5.00, on par with other MTA express buses. ^[1] MetroCard has been accepted on Bee-Line since April 1.^[3]

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 went for over a month.

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^[4]

These are the fares for the Bee Line bus system.^[5]

Type of service	Full fare (coins) No dollar bills accepted	Full fare (MetroCard)	Senior/disabled fare	Transfer cost	7-day unlimited ride MetroCard	30-day unlimited ride MetroCard
All routes except BxM4C	$1.75	$2.00	85¢ ($1.00 with Reduced Fare MetroCard)	CASH:25¢ (10¢ for seniors and disabled) Good for transfer to an MTA Bus, NYCTA, CT Transit, Tappan ZEExpress, or PART route ---- METROCARD:Free to another Bee Line or MTA local bus $3.00 to an MTA express bus or the BxM4C.	$24.00	$76.00
Route BxM4C	$5.00		$2.50	Free with MetroCard only No transfers available with cash payment	$41.00	Not available

• Transfers from Bee Line buses are good to/from all MTA buses and subways (transfers to subways, MTA express buses, and the BxM4C with MetroCard only).
• Transfers to/from Transport of Rockland and CT Transit are available with cash fare payment only.
• All transfers are good for 2 hours only.

Main article: List of bus routes in Westchester County, New York

This list only includes buses purchased since the inception of the Bee Line System.

Year	Builder	Model	Length (ft)	Width (in)	Seating		Engine	Numbers	Retired	Notes
1978	GMC	RTS-03 TH-7603	35	96	Transit	✗ (originally had lifts)	DD 6V71N	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	✗ (originally had lifts)	DD 6V71N	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	✗	MAN	601-661	2002	These were Bee Line's first articulated buses and were used throughout southern Westchester County.
1986	MCI	102A2	40	102	Suburban	✗	DD 6V92TA	901-928	Active	These buses are primarily for the BxM4C, 17, and 77 routes, and were Bee Line's first 102-inch wide buses.
1987	MCI	102A2	40	102	Suburban	✗	DD 6V92TA	929-938	Active	These buses are primarily for the BxM4C, 17, and 77 routes.
1989	Flxible	Metro-B 40102-6T	40	102	Transit	✗ (remaining backup fleet to be retrofitted with lifts)	DD 6V92TA	760-874	9 acitve	778, 810, 814, 819, 829, 832, 837, 851, and 860 are used exclusively in rush hour service and on school trip runs.
1989	Flxible	Metro-B 40102-6C	40	102	Transit	✗	CUM L10	875-879	2001	These were Bee Line's first buses with four-cycle engines.
1994	Startrans Supreme	Senator	25	96	Transit	✓	NAV 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	26	96	Transit	✓	NAV T444E	311	2000	This bus would be the only Orion 2 ever ordered. It was used on bus-to-rail shuttles.
1995	Orion	05.501	40	102	Transit	✓	DD 50	401-450	Active	These buses are used throughout the county. Replacements for the RTS buses.
1996	Orion	05.501	40	102	Transit	✓	DD 50	451-484	Active	Replacements for the RTS buses.
1997	Startrans Supreme	Senator	25	96	Transit	✓	NAV T444E	313-332	2004	These buses expanded the shuttle fleet.
1999	Startrans Supreme	Senator	25	96	Transit	✓	NAV T444E	333-355	2005	These buses expanded the shuttle fleet, and were replacements for the first 11 shuttle vans.
2002	Neoplan	AN460	60	102	Transit	✓	DD 60	501-578	Active	These buses replaced the MAN artics, and expanded the articulated bus fleet.
2002	Orion	05.505	32	96	Transit	✓	DD 50	101-115	Active	These buses replaced the 1997 Startrans Supreme vans. These buses also run later service on the 12 and 19 lines, and provide the bulk of service on Routes 9, 23, 66 and 78. These are also shuttle buses.
2005	Orion	05.505	32	96	Transit	✓	DD 50	116-136	Active	These buses expanded the shuttle fleet, and replaced the 1999 Startrans Supreme fleet. These buses also run on Routes 12, 16, and 19.
2005	Coach & Equipment	Phoenix	25	96	Transit	✓	NAV VT365	301-318	Active	These buses helped to expand the shuttle fleet.
2006	Orion	05.501	40	102	Transit	✓	CUM ISM	601-704	Active	These buses are the replacements for the Flxible Meto-Bs.
2006	Orion	07.501	40	102	Transit	✓	CUM ISB BAE HybriDrive	201-204	Active	These buses are Bee Line's very first low floor buses, and first ever diesel-electric hybrid buses, used in southern Westchester County.
2007	MCI	D4000CL	40	102	Suburban	✓	CAT C13[6]	Unknown	N/A	These buses will replace the MCI 102A2s. The initial order will be for 28 buses, expandable to 38, to replace the 102A2s.

Engine Abbreviations:
CAT-Caterpillar CUM-Cummins, DD-Detroit Diesel, NAV-Navistar.

1. ^ Greater New York mass transit ridership statistics, 2003, accessed January 6, 2007
2. ^ ^{a b} 2005 Bee Line Service Area map
3. ^ MetroCard coming to Bee Line
4. ^ Ridership increases post-strike
5. ^ Bee Line System fares
6. ^ Bee Line D4000 specs

• Bee-Line Bus System
• Liberty Lines
• Bee-Line Roster as of 2002

v • d • e Greater New York surface transit (buses and streetcars)
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Other	NYCTA/MTA Bus fleet • New Jersey Transit fleet • MetroCard • Other NYC transit