New York Bus Service

A former GM Fishbowl bus built in 1982.
#1502, now in the museum fleet of the MTA.

New York Bus Service was a private bus company in New York City, United States. Originally a school bus company founded in the mid-1940s, it was best known for providing express bus service between Midtown Manhattan and eastern sections of the Bronx from 1970 until July 1, 2005, when the city (MTA) assumed the company's operations from longtime owner Edward Arrigoni.[1][2] Former NYBS routes currently operate under the MTA Bus Company brand of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, out of the former NYBS facility in Eastchester, Bronx.[1]

History

The company began as the "station wagons-for-hire" business of Ferdinand E. Arrigoni.[3] It was officially founded in either 1944 or 1945 under the name Parochial Bus Service to provide school bus service.[4] It began operating racetrack services from the Bronx and Upper Manhattan in 1949, then operating as New York Bus Tours.[4] In 1964, contemporary owner Edward F. Arrigoni took over the company after the death of his father.[3][5] The company later operated service to the 1964 New York World's Fair (under the subsidiary Ferdinand Arrigoni, Inc.) and to New York Mets games at Shea Stadium beginning in 1966, both from the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Washington Heights, Manhattan.[6][7][8] The Shea Stadium service would also operate from Fordham Plaza, Parkchester, and several other locations in the Bronx.[8] By 1968, the company began operating under the name New York Bus Service.[8]

With the institution of 1970 OTB legislation (Off Track Betting), the demand for transportation to the race track diminished. New York Bus Service needed to find another niche in the bus transportation sector. Under the leadership of owner Edward Arrigoni, New York Bus Service commenced Parkchester - Manhattan express bus service (now the BxM6) on August 24, 1970.[9] Six more lines were added including a Co-Op City to Wall Street express bus service, later to be done away with. These express bus routes would run frequently during AM and PM peak periods.[10]

New York Bus Service also previously operated two local bus routes in 1968 from Co-op City to the East 241 Street - White Plains Road Subway Station via Baychester Av. (Bx71), and from Co-op City to the Dyre Avenue Subway Station (Bx70). Both of these routes were discontinued in 1972 due to low ridership.

New York Bus Service designed the standard NYC DOT Private Lines driver badges and discovered ways of reducing rollsign wear.

City takeover and current status

As part of a major takeover of the remaining private bus operators, on March 23, 2005 the city of New York announced it had agreed to take over NYBS operations. The city made an initial buyout payment of two million dollars for rights to the Bronx express bus lines NYBS operated. The MTA Bus Company (the successor to the private line operations) meanwhile agreed to pay Arrigoni and the other NYBS owners six million dollars annually for use of its depot and maintenance facilities for a period of twenty years, with an option to purchase afterwards.[11][12][13][14] On July 1, 2005, NYBS ceased operations and the former bus routes began operating under MTA Bus. The MTA has since renamed the garage to Eastchester Depot.[1][15][16] The large facility currently provides heavy maintenance services, along with a body shop for collision rebuilding and repairs for many MTA, and NYCT buses, stores "system reserve" buses, and handles much of the scrapping duties, including usable parts removal with components salvage and removal operations from all retired buses.[1][17]

Bus routes

Prior to the MTA Bus takeover, New York Bus Service operated the following express bus routes with starting dates:[2]

Route
(Name)		 Terminal A Major streets of travel Terminal B Notes
Bronx-Manhattan Express
BxM-6[9]
(Parkchester
Express)		 Midtown Manhattan
East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue 		Manhattan: 5th Avenue (southbound), 3rd and Madison Avenues (northbound), 72nd Street (eastbound)
Bronx: East 177th Street, Metropolitan Avenue		 Parkchester
Metropolitan Oval		 Established; August 24, 1970
BxM-7[18]
(Co-Op City
Express)		 Midtown Manhattan
East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue 		Manhattan: 5th Avenue (southbound), 3rd and Madison Avenues (northbound), 72nd Street (eastbound)
Bronx: Hutchinson River Parkway East, Co-Op City Boulevard		 Co-op City
Dreiser Loop		 Established January 18, 1971
BxM-7A[18](Pelham Bay
Express)		 Midtown Manhattan
East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue 		Manhattan: 5th Avenue (southbound), 3rd and Madison Avenues (northbound), 72nd Street (eastbound)
Bronx: Westchester Avenue, Bruckner Boulevard		 Pelham Bay
Pelham Bay Park subway station
( 6   <6>  trains)
  • Established; January 10, 1972
  • Now BxM-8
BxM-7B[18]
(City Island
Express)		 Midtown Manhattan
East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue 		Manhattan: 5th Avenue (southbound), 3rd and Madison Avenues (northbound), 72nd Street (eastbound)
Bronx: Westchester Avenue, Bruckner Boulevard		 City Island
City Island Avenue and Rochelle Street[19]
  • Established; January 7, 1980.
  • Eliminated by the MTA on June 27, 2010 due to budget cuts.
  • Replaced by two extended BxM8 trips.
BxM-9
(Throggs Neck
Express)		 Midtown Manhattan
East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue 		Manhattan: 5th Avenue (southbound), 3rd and Madison Avenues (northbound), 72nd Street (eastbound)
Bronx: Randall Avenue, Harding Avenue, Throgs Neck Boulevard (outbound), Clarence Avenue (inbound)		 Throggs Neck
Layton Avenue and Ellsworth Avenue		 Established; August 2, 1976
BxM-10
(Morris Park
Express)		 Midtown Manhattan
East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue 		Manhattan: 5th Avenue (southbound), 3rd and Madison Avenues (northbound), 72nd Street (eastbound)
Bronx: Morris Park Avenue, Eastchester Road

or
  • Established; January 7, 1980
  • Currently the northern terminus is recognized as being in Williamsbridge[21]
Bronx Local Buses (1968-1972)
Bx70 Co-op City Eastchester
Dyre Avenue subway station
( 5  train)		 Discontinued in 1972 due to low ridership.
Bx71 Co-op City Baychester Avenue Wakefield
Wakefield-241st Street subway station
( 2  train)		 Discontinued in 1972 due to low ridership.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Silverman, Norman (July 26, 2010). "The Merger of 7 Private Bus Companies into MTA Bus" (PDF). apta.com. American Public Transportation Association, Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 Urbitran Associates, Inc (May 2004). "NYCDOT Bus Ridership Survey and Route Analysis Final Report: Chapter 3 Transit System Characteristics" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 Martin, Douglas (October 29, 1988). "About New York; Offering $10,000 To Help Uphold A Social Contract". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Privately Operated Bus Service: History Of New York City's Private Bus Operators". nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2006-01-06. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
  5. ↑ "Deaths". The New York Times. February 15, 1964. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Charles G. (January 24, 1964). "WIDE BUS SERVICE TO FAIR PLANNED". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "New York Bus Tours Offers Service to Shea Stadium". The New York Times. May 29, 1966. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Bronx Bus Service is Slated for Mets". The New York Times. April 14, 1968. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Transport News and Notes". The New York Times. August 25, 1970. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives Study (MESA): Environmental Impact Statement. 1999-01-01.
  11. ↑ Rutenberg, Jim; Ramirez, Anthony (March 23, 2005). "Metro Briefing New York: Bronx: City To Take Over Another Bus Line". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (April 23, 2005). "City to Buy Private Bus Company for Service in Three Boroughs". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "The MTA Newsroom: MTA Bus Service Begins". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-01-21. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Announces Agreement with New York Bus Service, Inc.". 2005-03-22. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  15. ↑ "Eastchester Depot". Flickr - Photo Sharing!. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  16. ↑ DiNapoli, Thomas P. (2010-10-01). MTA Bus Company and New York City Transit: Selected Aspects of Vehicle Fuel Procurement and Use. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9781437934205.
  17. ↑ Donohue, Pete (October 31, 2008). "The living-dead buses in the Bronx". Daily News (New York). Archived from the original on 2014-10-29. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 "New York Bus Service sign East 45th Street Pelham Bay/City Island Express". facebook.com. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  19. ↑ City Island Express Schedule (New York Bus Services; Archived from April 6, 2005.)
  20. ↑ Morris Park Express (New York Bus Service; Archived from April 3, 2005)
  21. ↑ BxM10 bus schedule MTA Regional Bus Operations.
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