More and more commuters on the East coast are leaving their cars at home and riding the bus to work. The transit agencies in the region are hoping to continue this trend by appealing to those riders who don't rely on the bus as their primary transit.
"As $3-a-gallon gas prices remain common around the region, and mass-transit advocates urge commuters to leave their cars at home to ease congestion on the roadways and cut air pollution, bus systems are attracting new riders. Over the past year, ridership is up in Connecticut, New Jersey and Westchester and on Long Island. Improvements are planned throughout the region: from a new fleet of hybrid buses in Westchester that will run on a mix of electricity and low-sulfur diesel fuel to a rapid-transit bus system in Connecticut that is planned to run on a partly inactive Amtrak railroad right-of-way from Hartford to New Britain."
"Buses in the metropolitan region have two customer bases: commuters who can drive to work but choose not to, and people who do not own a car and need buses to get around. Bus systems throughout the region are rolling out plans to appeal to both groups."
"In Westchester County, the Bee-Line System is adding buses to eight of its busiest routes in the southern part of the county, to cut waiting time and add seats. Several of the routes travel through city streets in Yonkers and Mount Vernon to connect with New York City subway stations in the Bronx."
