New York Bus Service
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New York Bus Service provided express bus service between Midtown Manhattan and the Bronx from 1970 until MTA Bus Company assumed operations July 1, 2005. New York Bus Service started as a Paraochial school bus company and in 1949 started to offer passenger services under the name of New York Bus Tours. New York Bus Tours offered bus service to Belmont Race Track from the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
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 in 1970. Six more lines were added including a Co-Op City to Wall Street express bus service, later to be done away with.
New York Bus Service stood out from other private bus companies, they cared about the service they provided their 15,000 daily passengers with. Their buses would not leave the garage without air conditioning during summer months, and they kept the lowest MBDF (Mean Distance Between Failure) numbers for many years.
Under the leadership of the Arrigoni family, New York Bus Service outpaced every other private bus company in New York. Their management was willing to try new things and lead the industry by example. In 1984 New York Bus ordered 3 GM Classics, showing the power the company commanded. Not only did New York Bus Service help design the GM Classic, but they also received three custom built buses.
New York Bus Service designed the standard NYC DOT Private Lines driver badges and discovered ways of reducing rollsign wear. MTA Bus pays New York Bus Service six million dollars annually for use of its property and also made an intial buyout payment of two million dollars for rights to the Bronx express bus lines NYBS operated. MTA Bus has since renamed the garage to Eastchester Depot[citation needed]:
The New York Bus Service garage was located on Exit 13 off of Interstate 95 (New England Thruway).
Prior to the MTA Bus takeover, New York Bus Service operated the following routes:
- BxM6 Midtown Manhattan - Parkchester
- BxM7 Midtown Manhattan - Co-op City
- BxM7A Midtown Manhattan - Pelham Bay
- BxM7B Midtown Manhattan - City Island
- BxM9 Midtown Manhattan - Throgs Neck
- BxM10 Midtown Manhattan - Morris Park
[edit] References
- New York Bus Service (via the Internet Archive)
- NYCDOT - Privately Operated Bus Service (as of early-to-mid 2000s, accessed January 19, 2007)
- Iona College Honors Edward Arrigonni as an Alumni.
- MTA Bus Newsroom Report
- "City to Buy Private Bus Company For Service in Three Boroughs" The New York Times, April 23, 2005
- National Bus Trader April 1985 Issue
