As we reported last week, the Westchester Bee-Line bus system will be be hit with huge service cuts and a fare increase if the county legislature approves County Executive Andrew Spano’s proposed budget. The deadline is December 27. Spano’s budget calls for a fare hike of 15% and service cuts on 41 of 67 bus lines. Some lines would be eliminated.

The towns of Hartsdale, Eastchester, the southern sections of Elmsford and the Bronx would all be hard hit by the service cuts. The Westchester towns are in the south-central part of the county, 15 miles or less above the Bronx line. Northern Westchester County, with few mass transit options to begin with, will also be hard hit by the discontinuation of Route 17 and major service reductions on Routes 19 and 12.

In the lower county, Eastchester residents will see major service cuts. Under the proposed plan, line 45Q will be eliminated, line 30 will experience cuts during the morning rush, and line 45will see morning and afternoon cuts. All three routes — the 30, 45, and 45Q —stop at the New Rochelle train station, which planners have been working to develop into a major intermodal center serving Metro-North, Amtrak, and inter-city buses. Reduction of local transit connections will make this investment less worthwhile.

Those using service to and from the Bronxwill also be impacted. Eleven of the 19 bus lines that travel through the Bronx will be cut or eliminated somewhere along their route. These lines currently provide vital connections to NYC subways.

If Bee-Line does move to install MetroCard readers at some point, these lines, if service is functioning at more than a bare minimum, would likely see significant ridership growth. In Nassau County, Long Island Bus’ busiest lines are those connecting to subways in Queens. Free MetroCard transfers between the buses and subways has fueled rapid growth on those routes.

The cuts anticipated in Westchester would also impact residents who ride the bus during early and late commuting periods. 14 lines with partial weekday and/or weekend cuts would see service cuts in the morning affected in the early morning (5am to 9am) and later evening rush hours (6pm to 12am). Most of these cuts eliminate the first or the last bus of the day.

Other lines that will be eliminated include almost all of shuttle services — Shuttles A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H — linking neighborhoods and office parks to the White Plains train station.

The Bee Line bus system covers 450 square miles. With an annual ridership of 30 million, the Beeline system serves an estimated 100,000 passenger trips per day. County Executive Spano blames his new county budget — which is also scheduled to eliminate 229 county positions and raise property taxes — on what he calls “runaway state spending.” He claims that most county funds are designated for state-required programs, including Medicaid, Corrections and the MTA. He says diminishing money that is available for county services in Westchester leaves him no choice but to institute serious budget cuts, such as those proposed for the bus system.

The new budget calls for saving $2.7million through bus service cuts, and an additional $20 million through cuts in local jobs and county services. If approved, the cuts would take effect April1, 2003.

Combined with the proposed bus fare hike, the cuts will mean that Westchester residents will be paying more money for far less mass transit service.

For more on this, visit www.westchestergov.com.