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 New Flyer XDE60 #364 operates on Route 21 limited stops towards Bedford Park. | |
| Parent | Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1, 1978 |
| Headquarters | 100 East First Street, 9th Floor Mount Vernon,NY 10550 |
| Locale | Westchester County, New York |
| Service area | Westchester County, New York andPutnam County, New York;The Bronx andManhattan inNew York City; andGreenwich, Connecticut |
| Service type | Local, Limited, express, shuttle buses |
| Routes | 64 |
| Fleet | 327 fixed route 91 paratransit |
| Daily ridership | 81,613(2024)[1] |
| Fuel type | Diesel,Diesel-electric hybrid |
| Operator |
|
| Chief executive | Hugh J. Greechan, Jr., P.E., Commissioner |
| Website | Bee-Line Bus System |
TheWestchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase asthe bee-line system, is abus system servingWestchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation.
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 cartoonistJack Davis.[2][3]
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-basedLiberty Lines Transit, Inc., 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; andCortlandt Manor-based P.T.L.A. Enterprise, Inc., a small company that operates buses on routes 16, 18, and 31.
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 (the fourth Thursday in November), andChristmas (December 25).[4]
The system's 64 routes are mostly concentrated in the more urban southern portion of the county, with the cities ofMount Vernon,New Rochelle, andYonkers 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 asMount Kisco,Ossining, orPeekskill. Areas such asLewisboro,North Salem, andPound 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 leastrush hour service.[5]
Because Westchester County borders on theNew York Cityborough ofthe Bronx, many of the Bee-Line's routes operate into the Bronx, offering Westchester residents connections toMTA New York City Transitbuses andsubways; at least one Bee-Line route connects to eachsubway route serving the Bronx. The Bee-Line System also operates an express route, theBxM4C from White Plains,Greenburgh,Hartsdale,Scarsdale, and Yonkers alongCentral Park Avenue toFifth Avenue inManhattan (return trips operate onMadison Avenue 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:
In addition,Route 12 briefly entersGreenwich,Connecticut alongKing Street, in which it makes stops in Greenwich andRye Brook, New York along the New York/Connecticut border;Route 16 briefly entersPutnam County to serve the Mahopac Village Centre; andRoute 77 enters Putnam County to serve theUS Route 6 corridor betweenMahopac andCarmel.[5]
All fares require exact change orMetroCard. All transfers are free with payment of fare. Dollar bills are not accepted on any Bee-Line System buses.[6]
| Route | Full fare | Senior/ disabled fare | Transfer All transfers good for 2 hours | 7-day unlimited rideMetroCard | 30-day unlimited rideMetroCard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All except BxM4C | $2.75 | $1.35 |
| $34 $17 with Reduced Fare ID | $132 $66 with Reduced Fare ID |
| BxM4C | $7.50 | $3.75 (Off peak only) |
| No Unlimited-Ride MetroCards accepted | |
Notes:
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Bee-Line Bus started accepting MetroCard on April 1, 2007.[7] 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.[8] MetroCard Vans made stops on heavily used routes to help people get ready for the MetroCard.[9] On July 23, 2019, it was announced that the Bee-Line bus fare system on all buses would be upgraded to theOMNY 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 as of May 2025[update], 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.[10]
For certain periods during the summer and winter of 2022, the buses were fare-free.[11] During the summers of 2023 and 2024, buses were fare free until Labor Day.
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As of 2025[update], the Bee-Line System had 325 buses in its fleet, of which 40 were diesel vehicles and the rest were hybrid or electric vehicles.[12] This roster only lists buses and shuttle vans used in fixed route service.Paratransit vehicles are not listed. All buses are wheelchair accessible.
| Fleet numbers | Year | Photo | Manufacturer | Model | Length | Width | Engines | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 116–136 | 2005 |  | Orion Bus Industries | Orion V 05.505 | 32 ft (9.8 m) | 96 in (2.4 m) | Detroit Diesel Series 50 EGR | AllisonB400R |
| 801–830 | 2008 |  | Orion V 05.501 | 40 ft (12 m) | 102 in (2.6 m) | CumminsISL | ||
| 205-299 | 2010 | .jpg) | North American Bus Industries | NABI 40-LFW HEV | Cummins ISL9 | Allison EP40 Hybrid System | ||
| 301–378 | 2018–2020 |  | New Flyer Industries | Xcelsior XDE60 articulated | 60 ft (18 m) | CumminsL9 | BAE Systems HDS300hybrid system | |
| 100–106 | 2023 | Xcelsior XDE35 | 35 ft (11 m) | CumminsB6.7 | BAE Systems HDS200hybrid system | |||
| 141–144 | 2021 |  | Xcelsior XE35 | Siemens HV1DB2016 | Siemens ELFA2 | |||
| 145–146 | 2021 |
| Xcelsior XE40 | 40 ft (12 m) | ||||
| 398–503 | 2021–2022 |  | Xcelsior XDE40 | CumminsL9 | BAE Systems HDS200hybrid system | |||
| 504–515 | 2023–2024 |  |
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.[13][14][15]
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