Transit Orange

Transit Orange
A Transit Orange bus on The Main Line in 2008
ParentOrange County Department of Planning
Founded2006
Headquarters1887 County Building
124 Main St
Goshen, NY 10924[1]
Service areaOrange County, NY
Service typeLocal buses, Dial-a-bus
Routes14
HubsMiddletown Terminal
Woodbury Commons
Downtown Newburgh
Wallkill Malls
Annual ridership812,366 (county total, 2023)[a]
Fuel typeDiesel
WebsiteOfficial website

Transit Orange is the brand name for bus transit services in Orange County, New York. Under the brand name of Transit Orange, mini-systems, mostly municipally-run, serve various towns across Orange County.[2] In addition to these municipal and private services, Transit Orange also owns The Main Line bus, and oversees municipal dial-a-bus operations.[3][4] Along with Short Line Bus and the Metro-North Port Jervis Line, Transit Orange forms the basis of public transportation in Orange County.[1]

History

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Bus service in Orange County in 1934, when Newburgh's system was founded. In 1935, Middletown's system commenced operations. Kiryas Joel's system likely was created sometime in the 1970s, when Kiryas Joel was founded. By the mid-2000s, 16 different private companies operated in Orange County, and none had any connections with each other.[5]

As a solution, Transit Orange was created in 2006 to consolidate and unify the operations of the multiple different companies that ran services in Orange County at the time.[5] Transit Orange did not directly take over or replace any transit systems, however local and dial-a-bus services began using county-owned and Transit Orange-branded vehicles. In 2023, services overseen by the county had a total ridership of 948,891 passengers per year.[6][b]

In June 2024, system redesign proposals were released for the Middletown and Newburgh systems.[7][8]

Services

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Transit Orange does not directly operate any routes; all operations are contracted out. When the operator is known, it is listed.[5]

Municipal local services

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All municipal services are operated as their own private companies, but their fleets mostly or entirely consist of leased buses owned by Transit Orange, and all services operate under the Transit Orange brand name.

Middletown

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The Middletown system, officially known as the Middletown Transit Corporation, is operated by Short Line Bus.[5] Four routes operate from a central hub on Railroad Avenue, located in Downtown Middletown.[9] The system has existed since 1935.

In June 2024, a system redesign proposal was released for the Middletown system.[8]

All routes operate as loops, serving different parts of Middletown and the surrounding towns:[9]

Newburgh

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The Newburgh system, officially known as the Newburgh-Beacon Bus Corporation, but commonly known as Newburgh Area Transit, operates four routes that converge on downtown Newburgh.[10] The system has existed since 1934. The company is owned by Leprechaun Lines, which in addition to the local services, operates two other services: the Beacon-Newburgh-Stewart Shuttle from Beacon, New York to Stewart International Airport via Newburgh, and a commuter bus from Poughkeepsie to White Plains.[11][12] These bus routes are not affiliated with Transit Orange, and use Leprechaun Lines-branded buses. However, connections can be made to the Beacon-Newburgh-Stewart Shuttle from local Newburgh routes.

In June 2024, a system redesign proposal was released for the Newburgh system.[7]

The Newburgh system operates four routes:[10]

Route Name Termini via Notes
Broadway Newburgh
Liberty St & Broadway
Gardnertown
Newburgh Towne Mall
Broadway, NY-300
Northside Balmville
N Plank Rd & Chestnut Ln
Liberty St/West St, N Plank Rd
Southside New Windsor
Cedar Av & Union Av
NY-32, Cedar Av, NY-94, Water St
Crosstown Newburgh
St Lukes Hospital
Cornwall
Cornwall Hospital
Quaker St, NY-32, NY-94
  • Operates via Liberty & Broadway

Kiryas Joel

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The Kiryas Joel system, officially and commonly known as Kiryas Joel Area Transit, serves the heavily-Hasidic Jewish village of Kiryas Joel. The service is operated by the village itself, using mostly buses owned by Transit Orange, although the village does own some of its own buses.[13] This system gets the most ridership of any of the systems by far – 627,381 riders in 2023 – and comprises a majority of the total ridership of Transit Orange.[6] Kiryas Joel is also served by Monsey Trails and Monroe Bus Lines, which while also catering to the Hasidic community, are not affiliated with Kiryas Joel Area Transit or Transit Orange. In keeping with Shabbat, services do not run on Friday afternoons or Saturdays.

The Kiryas Joel system operates three routes:[13]

Route Name Termini via Notes
Local Kiryas Joel
Shopping Center
Kiryas Joel
Toltchav Wy & Dinev Pl
Village Loop
  • Operates in different directions each hour
Woodbury Commons Central Valley
Woodbury Commons
Village Loop, Spring St, Nininger Rd
Walmart Kiryas Joel
Shopping Center
Toltchav Wy & Dinev Pl
Harriman
Harriman Commons Mall
Village Loop, Spring St, Larkin Wy
  • Operates in a loop from one Kiryas Joel terminus to Harriman Commons then back to the other Kiryas Joel terminus

Warwick

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The Warwick system, which is municipally operated and part of the same agency as the Warwick Dial-a-Bus, operates a local bus route in the Village of Warwick and shuttle services to Monroe, Goshen, and Wallkill.[14] The Warwick system uses solely minibuses, and vehicles are shuffled between dial-a-ride and fixed-route services.[15]

In total, the town operates three fixed routes:[14][16][17]

Route Name Termini via Notes
Local Village Shuttle Warwick Village
Homestead Village
Warwick
ShopRite/Price Chopper
St Stephens Church
Village Loop
  • Only runs to St Stephens Church on Sundays
Wallkill/Goshen Shuttle Warwick Village Wallkill
Galleria Mall
NY-94, NY-17M, NY-17
  • Reservations required
  • Serves Goshen as well as Wallkill
  • Operates Wednesday through Saturday
Monroe Shuttle Monroe Unknown
  • Reservations required
  • Unknown routing
  • Operates on the first and third Friday of each month.

Port Jervis

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In addition to the Port Jervis dial-a-bus, which also extends into Deerpark, the city of Port Jervis operates a fixed bus loop on Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm, serving various destinations across the city.[18]

The Main Line

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The Main Line service operates between Middletown and Woodbury Commons. On weekends, it is extended to the Harriman Metro-North station. It is operated by Short Line Bus. Unlike all other services, the buses on the Main Line are not owned by Transit Orange, but rather by Short Line Bus.[19]

Dial-a-Bus

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Dial-a-Bus services are operated by the following towns:[20]

Fleet

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The municipal local services mostly use a fleet of 29- and 35-foot Gillig Low Floor hybrid-electric buses, which were constructed in 2013.[21] In addition to these buses, Kiryas Joel operates three Vicinity buses that are owned by the village itself (as opposed to Transit Orange, like the rest of the fleet).[22] Also in addition to the 2013 Gilligs, Newburgh uses two 2022-built diesel-powered Gilligs, which are owned by Transit Orange.[23] As opposed to the other systems, Warwick uses exclusively minibuses on their local routes, and has a shared fleet with their dial-a-bus system.[15]

The Main Line bus uses Short Line-owned buses, usually Gillig Low Floors or Phantoms. These are separate from the Transit Orange-owned Gilligs.

Notes

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  1. ^ Includes local services (836,089), dial-a-bus (101,247), and The Main Line (11,555). Excludes the Beacon-Newburgh-Stewart shuttle.
  2. ^ Includes local services (836,089), dial-a-bus (101,247), and The Main Line (11,555). Excludes the Beacon-Newburgh-Stewart shuttle.

References

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  1. ^ a b "HOME". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "Local Bus". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "Main Line". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Dial-A-Ride". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Long Range Transportation Plan 2015 – 2040". Orange County Transportation Council. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Annual Ridership" (PDF). Transit Orange. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  7. ^ a b jridgeway24 (June 4, 2024). "Newburgh Area Transit Redesign". Transit Orange. Retrieved June 21, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b jridgeway24 (June 4, 2024). "Middletown Area Transit Redesign". Transit Orange. Retrieved June 21, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b "Middletown". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Newburgh". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "Newburgh Beacon Shuttle Services". Leprechaun Lines. May 21, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "White Plains Bus Service". Leprechaun Lines. December 26, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Kiryas Joel". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Dial-A-Ride / Local Transportation". Town of Warwick. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Town of Warwick - CPTDB Wiki". cptdb.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  16. ^ "Shuttle Runs" (PDF). Town of Warwick. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  17. ^ "Town of Warwick Transit System" (PDF). Town of Warwick. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  18. ^ "Dial A Bus". Port Jervis Website. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  19. ^ "Main Line". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  20. ^ "Dial-A-Ride". Transit Orange. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  21. ^ "Orange unveils hybrid diesel-electric buses". Hudson Valley Press. July 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  22. ^ "Kiryas Joel Area Transit - CPTDB Wiki". cptdb.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  23. ^ "Newburgh Beacon Bus Corporation 229, 231 - CPTDB Wiki". cptdb.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
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