Westchester County Announces Five-Year Contract with Liberty Lines

County Executive George Latimer and Liberty Lines announced that the county has agreed to a new five-year contract with Liberty Lines, a BCW member that will continue to run the county’s Bee Line Bus system.

The deal, which runs through 2023, was reached with the county paying $13M less to Liberty Lines and an additional savings of $7M from insurance costs. The deal also calls for the shifting of insurance providers from AIG to New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal – a not-for-profit entity – all while still providing the same services that thousands of Westchester residents rely on. Over the term of the contract, Westchester County and Liberty Lines also agree to work together and continue to evaluate the cost of fuel. Any further savings generated from these efforts will be in addition to those already quantified, according to Westchester County.

Liberty Lines provides 27 million rides every year on 58 routes throughout the County while also providing express bus service from Westchester to Manhattan.

Latimer said: “The deal we are approving today will save Westchester County taxpayers $20M over a five-year span. When my Administration took office on January 1, we had on the table the willingness to negotiate a new contract. This negotiation back and forth between the County and the company – which both sides were able to agree upon – has a definite benefit. We talk a lot about the deficit we are facing in Westchester County, and the government and taxpayers owe a debt of gratitude to Liberty Lines for their flexibility in being willing to help close that gap.”

Liberty Lines Board of Directors representative Bruce Bernacchia said: “We would like to thank County Executive George Latimer and his staff for working with us through this negotiation. Liberty Lines is excited to build on its 53-year legacy of providing high quality and reliable bus service to Westchester residents. We were pleased to work with County Executive Latimer to identify significant savings for Westchester taxpayers in this contract while maintaining service. We are also grateful for his steadfast support of our 700 employees, most of whom live in Westchester. We look forward to continuing to provide this critical service to Westchester County.”