Westchester County, Liberty Lines Announce 5-Year Partnership​

WHITE PLAINS, NY — With transit workers in attendance, County Executive George Latimer and Liberty Lines announced a new five-year partnership Monday that includes $20 million in savings to Westchester County taxpayers. Liberty Lines — a Westchester-based company — provides 27 million rides every year on 58 routes throughout the county while also providing express bus service from Westchester to Manhattan.

Earlier this year, the Journal News reported that 68 percent of riders rate Liberty’s service as “good” or “excellent,” illustrating that county taxpayers, are satisfied with the level of this vital provided service, according to a spokesman.

The deal, which runs through 2023, was reached with the county paying $13 million less to Liberty Lines and an additional savings of $7 million 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, the 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.

Latimer said the deal being approved Monday will save Westchester County taxpayers $20M over a five year span.

"When my administration took office on Jan. 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," he said. "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 thanked Latimer and his staff for working with them 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," he said. "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.”

Providing quality service to the residents of Westchester County is a priority of the Latimer administration, a spokesman said. Bus route planning technology continues to be upgraded to be responsive to the needs of the county's customers. Westchester County and Liberty Lines will be utilizing state-of-the-art technology as they jointly look at the current routes, modifications to the routes and any potential new routes.

Photo credit: Bee-Line.