Sure, the Chinese community in New York City has their dollar vans that run between neighborhoods like Chinatown, Sunset Park and Flushing. But the Hasidic Jewish neighborhoods take the ethnic-defined bus to a new level – the B-110 bus looks like a municipal bus (though the buses themselves come from the Fairfax Connector in Virginia) and operates under a franchise with the city.
The B-110 bus is operated by Private Transportation Corporation, which doesn’t take any subsidies from the city. The route goes from Williamsburg and Borough Park and by law, anyone can take it, but the buses are wrapped in Yiddish writing. It also costs more than an MTA fare at $3.25.
In 2011, following controversy about sex segregation on the bus (women were told verbally and through signage) to sit in the back or take a woman only bus, there was a possibility that the city was going to shut the line down. Signs were made by the bus company to comply with anti-discrimination laws, but in practice it appears that things have remained the same. Last year, the New York Times wrote, “since virtually all the riders traveling that route are Hasidic, the men and women choose to do so on their own and do not complain about segregation.”
Someone has created a handy map of the route and stops for the B-110 on Google Maps (embedded below), as the route doesn’t appear in the MTA system.
Next, read about the Top 10 Secrets of the NYC Subway system.
