Bee-Line bus riders say service in Westchester County is unreliable, inaccessible and not matching needs they face, according to a report released Friday.
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a New York City nonprofit public transit advocacy organization, shared survey results with elected officials, advocates and bus riders during a Zoom call coinciding with Transit Equity Day, which marks the civil rights activist Rosa Parks’ 109th birthday.
In a survey of more than140 bus riders, respondents detailed their experience in questionnaires taken in October, following concerns over abrupt service cuts in the fall by the Liberty Line Bus Company, which is contracted to operate the Bee-Line,due to declining ridership.
Organizers said thesurveyisn't a representative sample of all riders. However, the report is meant to give more insight into ridership as the county studies a Bee-Linenetwork redesign.
“I want to be able to have autonomy,” said New Rochelle resident Ann Chiappetta, who is blind and uses a guide dog.
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Because routes often aren’t announced, she has to sit closest to the bus driver, which can be uncomfortable. She cited Metro-North Railroad and New York City subway systems that announce stops.
“Right now, it’s impossible,” she said.
The Bee-Line serves about 100,000 people each weekday through nearly 60 bus routes. About 14% of the county's population of over 1 million people don't have access to a car, according to census estimates.
Separately, the county issues its own surveys every three years, with one expected in the spring. In the 2019 county survey, riders were overwhelmingly Black or Latino, according to the county's wider sample of more than 6,000 respondents. Nearly half of all riders the county surveyed had annual household incomes ofless than $25,000, and close to two-thirds didn’t have access to a car.
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s report followed cuts to 5% of Bee-Line’s scheduled trips, some of whichhave been restored. The bus system's weekday ridership had plummeted by 24%, to around 65,000 riders, and Liberty indicated there was a shortage of drivers. On Oct. 11, the cuts took effect.
Report author, Jaqi Cohen, who is director of climate and equity policy at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said results showed riders felt their needs weren’t being considered. Many didn’t have time to plan for the service cuts.
“We’ve heard from riders that transparency is really vital,” she said. “For their experience, they just want to know when their bus is going to show up.”
In a statement, spokesperson Catherine Cioffi said the county recognized the local public transportation need.
“While we strive to provide the best service possible, we recognize improvements can always be made to better service the riders," she said."We take all recommendations seriously and will discuss with Liberty Lines.”
For the report published Friday, an organizer interviewed bus riders at stops in Yonkers, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, and also includedonline questionnaires.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they used the bus to get to essential services, such as health care, groceries, banking or government services. Over half said they used it to get to work, and nearly 40% used it for social engagements. Twelve percent said they rode the bus to school.
More than 40% of riders needed service during work hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and those surveyed rated weekday service better than weeknights and weekends. Still, over 60% of riders surveyed waited more than 10 minutes for their buses to arrive.
Close to 39% of respondents used paper bus schedules, while about 38% used Google Maps. Just over 21% said they used Bee-Line's Real Time app.
Less than half of riders surveyed said they had a bench at their stops, and over a fifthhad bus stop shelters. However, 40% said they had no amenities at stops. Many, the report noted, wanted more access to MTA MetroCard refill stations,which can be used for Bee-Line and the subway.
“We need to do more to make sure our system has as much coverage as possible,” said county Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, the chair of the public works and transportation committee, who called in from the New Rochelle train station.
The Board of Legislators have appropriated funding for a newapp to track bus availability and locations, she added.Legislators are also considering next steps after the county’s Bee-Line $638 million contract with Liberty expires at the end of 2023.
But David Bragdon, executive director of Transit Center, said there hasn’t been accountability with Liberty, a private company.
“Fixing that contract, getting some competition into the system, and some metrics … to perform well for riders is really important to build the service back,” he said.
Yonkers resident Avis Bethea, 50, rides the bus because it beats the costof a car.
However, she said it wasn’t just in the fall with cuts to buses. Often, she has to wait outside with long delays.
She called on officials to pay more attention to riders' needs.
“We’re not less of a person,” she said. “You go around to get our votes, then when you have them, you just sit there and dismiss us. Don’t count us out.”
Eduardo Cuevascovers diversity, equity and inclusionin Westchester and Rockland counties. He can be reached atEMCuevas1@lohud.comand followed on Twitter@eduardomcuevas.
