To promote fare compliance and ensure the safety and sustainability of Westchester County’s Bee-Line Bus System, the county has introduced a proposed local law that would establish a civil penalty for the theft of services on the Bee-Line.

The legislation was submitted for adoption to the Westchester County Board of Legislators and would amend the county laws by creating a noncriminal enforcement mechanism for individuals who fail to pay the required fare to ride the Bee-Line.

"This is about protecting the integrity of the system while being mindful of who’s riding, and why they might not be paying," Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said.

A 2018 report by the Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation found the Bee-Line serves approximately 100,000 riders per day at over 3,000 bus stops throughout the county.

Currently, fare evasion is a criminal misdemeanor under state law, but the county wants to address the issue through civil penalties rather than criminal charges.

The bill includes a $50 fine for a first offense and $100 fine for each subsequent nonpayment after that. It would also allow police to issue tickets.

Westchester County Legislator Erika Pierce, who is chair of the Transportation Committee, said the legislature is weighing the bill and all options to address the issue.

"Making it a noncriminal system makes a lot of sense to me.," Pierce said. "This should be about accountability. This should not be about ruining people's lives."

The board did approve a program to expand its electric vehicle-charging infrastructure across the county.

The new local law enables Westchester to reimburse up to 50% of installation costs for EV charging stations at 79 locations in 24 municipalities. The program cost is capped at $5 million.

"It's part of our commitment to improving the infrastructure," Westchester Board of Legislators Chair Vedat Gashi said. "We have seen EV vehicles are cleaner, better for the environment and cheaper."

Legislators said the effort aims to improve air quality, lower emissions and make clean transportation more accessible.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins was the one who sent the bill to the legislature for its consideration and said he is looking forward to signing the bill into law.

"This is going to turn around very quickly," Jenkins said. "In the next couple of months, you'll see those chargers being implemented and installed at those locations."