Latimer: Ridership up during Bee-Line’s fare-free bus program

Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced the revived fare-free Bee-Line bus program that took place in November and December resulted in significant increases in ridership.

The program ran from Nov. 19 through Nov. 27, and again on Dec. 7 through Dec. 26. When the program concluded, more than 1.7 million passengers rode the fixed route bus system, generating a 10% increase in ridership on weekdays and Saturdays compared to average fall 2020 ridership. Latimer also pointed out that weekdays and Saturday ridership during the fare-free period reached 95% of pre-pandemic ridership, while on Sundays the levels were closer to 90%.

The free fares were also valid on Bee-Line”™s ParaTransit system, a shared ride service for which reservations must be made in advance. Throughout the fare-free period, over 19,000 ParaTransit reservations were made.

The county government first offered a free rides program last summer, which resulted in a 37% increase in ridership during the three-month period of June, July and August, compared to the prior three-month period in March, April and May.

“My administration is constantly looking for ways to save Westchester residents money ”“ and when it came to fare-free buses ”“ Westchester residents certainly took advantage,” Latimer said. “By both saving some extra cash around the holiday season and taking the environmentally friendly mass transit option to get where they needed to go, our state-of-the-art Bee-line bus system showed just how valuable it is for those who live, work or visit Westchester.”

Photo by Adam E. Moreira / Wikimedia Commons.