 | |
 A Transit Orange bus on The Main Line in 2008 | |
| Parent | Orange County Department of Planning |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | 1887 County Building 124 Main St Goshen, NY 10924[1] |
| Service area | Orange County, NY |
| Service type | Local buses,Dial-a-bus |
| Routes | 14 |
| Hubs | Middletown Terminal Woodbury Commons DowntownNewburgh Wallkill Malls |
| Annual ridership | 948,891 (county total, 2023)[a] |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Website | Official website |
Transit Orange is the brand name for bus transit services inOrange County, New York. Under the brand name of Transit Orange, mini-systems, mostly municipally-run, serve various towns across Orange County.[2] In addition to these municipal and private services, Transit Orange also owns The Main Line bus, and oversees municipaldial-a-bus operations.[3][4] Along withShort Line Bus and theMetro-NorthPort Jervis Line, Transit Orange forms the basis of public transportation in Orange County.[1]
Bus service in Orange County in 1934, when Newburgh's system was founded. In 1935, Middletown's system commenced operations. Kiryas Joel's system likely was created sometime in the 1970s, when Kiryas Joel was founded. By the mid-2000s, 16 different private companies operated in Orange County, and none had any connections with each other.[5]
As a solution, Transit Orange was created in 2006 to consolidate and unify the operations of the multiple different companies that ran services in Orange County at the time.[5] Transit Orange did not directly take over or replace any transit systems, however local and dial-a-bus services began using county-owned and Transit Orange-branded vehicles. In 2023, services overseen by the county had a total ridership of 948,891 passengers per year.[6][b]
In June 2024, system redesign proposals were released for the Middletown and Newburgh systems.[7][8]
Transit Orange does not directly operate any routes; all operations are contracted out. When the operator is known, it is listed.[5]
All municipal services are operated as their own private companies, but their fleets mostly or entirely consist of leased buses owned by Transit Orange, and all services operate under the Transit Orange brand name.
TheMiddletown system, officially known as theMiddletown Transit Corporation, is operated byShort Line Bus.[5] Four routes operate from a central hub on Railroad Avenue, located in Downtown Middletown.[9] The system has existed since 1935.
In June 2024, a system redesign proposal was released for the Middletown system.[8]
All routes operate as loops, serving different parts of Middletown and the surrounding towns:[9]
TheNewburgh system, officially known as theNewburgh-Beacon Bus Corporation, but commonly known as Newburgh Area Transit, operates four routes that converge on downtown Newburgh.[10] The system has existed since 1934. The company is owned byLeprechaun Lines, which in addition to the local services, operates two other services: the Beacon-Newburgh-Stewart Shuttle fromBeacon, New York toStewart International Airport via Newburgh, and a commuter bus fromPoughkeepsie toWhite Plains.[11][12] These bus routes are not affiliated with Transit Orange, and use Leprechaun Lines-branded buses. However, connections can be made to the Beacon-Newburgh-Stewart Shuttle from local Newburgh routes.
In June 2024, a system redesign proposal was released for the Newburgh system.[7]
The Newburgh system operates four routes:[10]
| Route Name | Termini | via | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadway | Newburgh Liberty St & Broadway | Gardnertown Newburgh Towne Mall | Broadway,NY-300 | |
| Northside | Balmville N Plank Rd & Chestnut Ln | Liberty St/West St, N Plank Rd | ||
| Southside | New Windsor Cedar Av & Union Av | NY-32, Cedar Av,NY-94, Water St | ||
| Crosstown | Newburgh St Lukes Hospital | Cornwall Cornwall Hospital | Quaker St,NY-32,NY-94 |
|
TheKiryas Joel system, officially and commonly known asKiryas Joel Area Transit, serves the heavily-Hasidic Jewish village of Kiryas Joel. The service is operated by the village itself, using mostly buses owned by Transit Orange, although the village does own some of its own buses.[13] This system gets the most ridership of any of the systems by far – 627,381 riders in 2023 – and comprises a majority of the total ridership of Transit Orange.[6] Kiryas Joel is also served byMonsey Trails and Monroe Bus Lines, which while also catering to the Hasidic community, are not affiliated with Kiryas Joel Area Transit or Transit Orange. In keeping withShabbat, services do not run on Friday afternoons or Saturdays.
The Kiryas Joel system operates three routes:[13]
| Route Name | Termini | via | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local | Kiryas Joel Shopping Center | Kiryas Joel Toltchav Wy & Dinev Pl | Village Loop |
|
| Woodbury Commons | Central Valley Woodbury Commons | Village Loop, Spring St, Nininger Rd | ||
| Walmart | Kiryas Joel Shopping Center Toltchav Wy & Dinev Pl | Harriman Harriman Commons Mall | Village Loop, Spring St, Larkin Wy |
|
TheWarwick system, which is municipally operated and part of the same agency as the Warwick Dial-a-Bus, operates a local bus route in theVillage of Warwick and shuttle services toMonroe,Goshen, andWallkill.[14] The Warwick system uses solely minibuses, and vehicles are shuffled between dial-a-ride and fixed-route services.[15]
In total, the town operates three fixed routes:[14][16][17]
| Route Name | Termini | via | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Village Shuttle | Warwick Village Homestead Village | Warwick ShopRite/Price Chopper St Stephens Church | Village Loop |
|
| Wallkill/Goshen Shuttle | Warwick Village | Wallkill Galleria Mall | NY-94,NY-17M,NY-17 |
|
| Monroe Shuttle | Monroe | Unknown |
| |
In addition to thePort Jervis dial-a-bus, which also extends intoDeerpark, the city of Port Jervis operates a fixed bus loop on Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm, serving various destinations across the city.[18]
In addition to theMonroe dial-a-bus, which also serves the town ofWoodbury, the town of Monroe also operates two fixed routes.[19][20] The first one is the Monroe Dial-a-Bus Express Loop, which serves various locations in the town, including thevillage of Monroe,Woodbury Commons, Larkin Drive, and thevillage of Harriman.[21] Secondly, starting in Spring 2024, the town of Monroe announced a once-monthly route toWallkill, which requires reservations, similar to Warwick's services.[22] In 2023, the Express Loop served 5,497 passengers, or approximately 100 per day.[23]
The Main Line service operates betweenMiddletown andWoodbury Commons. On weekends, it is extended to the Harriman Metro-North station. It is operated byShort Line Bus. Unlike all other services, the buses on the Main Line are not owned by Transit Orange, but rather by Short Line Bus.[3]
Dial-a-Bus services are operated by the following towns:[4]
The municipal local services mostly use a fleet of 29- and 35-footGilligLow Floorhybrid-electric buses, which were constructed in 2013.[24] In addition to these buses, Kiryas Joel operates threeVicinity buses that are owned by the village itself (as opposed to Transit Orange, like the rest of the fleet).[25] Also in addition to the 2013 Gilligs, Newburgh uses two 2022-built diesel-powered Gilligs, which are owned by Transit Orange.[26] As opposed to the other systems, Warwick uses exclusively minibuses on their local routes, and has a shared fleet with their dial-a-bus system.[15]
The Main Line bus uses Short Line-owned buses, usually GilligLow Floors orPhantoms. These are separate from the Transit Orange-owned Gilligs.
