Monsey Trails
| Headquarters | 8 Washington Avenue |
|---|---|
| Locale | Spring Valley, New York |
| Service area | Rockland County, New York, Lakewood, New Jersey |
| Service type | coach service |
| Routes | 6 |
| Website |
www |
Monsey Trails is a private bus company plying a publicly licensed route based in Rockland County, New York. It is operated by a Jewish family of the Skver Hasidic sect in New Square. The publicly subsidized carrier uses a fleet of 60 coach-style buses, many of which are publicly owned by Rockland County and leased to Monsey, running 80 scheduled daily trips to provide charter functions and commuter bus service. While the county-owned Transport of Rockland provides local service and connects commuters with rail transit to New York City, Monsey Trails, along with Short Line, provides private bus service between the sub-urbanized region and the area's principal city.
The company's primary area of service is in the heavily ultra-Orthodox Jewish west-central portion of the county, and much of the system's literature is printed in both English and Yiddish. Routes originate in Monsey, a community with a strong Orthodox Jewish but somewhat diverse population, and New Square, a homogeneous Hasidic village. Many routes bound for Manhattan also travel to the heavily ultra-Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Boro Park. Another route connects Monsey and New Square with Kiryas Joel, an exclusive Satmar Hasidic community in Orange County. It also operates service between Manhattan and Woodbury Common Premium Outlets under the Express Trails brand, competing with Short Line.
Monsey Trails made the news in 1994, when a Jewish woman filed a sex-discrimination suit against the company, after she was told by ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers to leave a men’s section.[1] The dispute raised questions about how far a company which receives government financing can go in accommodating religious practices. Monsey Trails received mass transit subsidies from New York State amounting to nearly $650,000 in 1993, roughly a quarter of the company's annual revenue.[2] The suit resulted in an out-of-court settlement, in which Monsey Trails agreed not to actively segregate male and female riders for Jewish prayers, and neither to provide a curtain to separate the male passengers from women and non-Jews, nor advertise daily prayers in its timetables, as they had done before.[3]
Lakewood Express
Monsey Trails also operates service between Lakewood, New Jersey and Brooklyn under the Lakewood Express brand. This service was previously operated by Darkanu Bus Company until it shut down after an accident and Monsey assumed the route.[4]
The Baltimore Line
Monsey Trails also operates service between Baltimore, Maryland and Brooklyn under the Baltimore Line brand. Buses depart 3 times weekly from 14th Ave & 53rd St in Brooklyn, and arrive at 7 Mile Market in Baltimore. Buses depart 3 times weekly from 7 Mile Market in Baltimore and return to Brooklyn at 14th Ave & 53rd St.thebaltimoreline webpage
Routes
| Route Number | Route Name | Route Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYC Route | New Square/Monsey to Manhattan/Williamsburg |
| 2 | Brooklyn Route | New Square/Monsey to Williamsburg/Boro Park |
| 3 | Boro Park Express | Monsey to Boro Park Express |
| 5 | Forshay Route | Monsey North to Manhattan/Williamsburg |
| 6 | K.J. Express | New Square/Monsey to Kiryas Joel |
| 7 | Lakewood Express | Lakewood, New Jersey to Brooklyn |
| 8 | Baltimore Line | Brooklyn to Baltimore, Maryland |
References
- ↑ "Region News Briefs; Bus Company Is Sued Over Seating for Prayers". The New York Times. October 18, 1994. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ↑ Joseph Berger (September 9, 1994). "Discrimination or Discourtesy?; A Commuter Won't Leave Her Bus Seat for Hasidic Prayer Meeting". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ↑ Joseph Berger (March 14, 1995). "Commuters Reach Settlement Over Jewish Prayers on Bus". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ↑ WABC-TV (June 2, 2010). "Six hurt when bus overturns on Garden State Parkway". BC 7 Eyewitness News. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
External links
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