Varsity Bus Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Predecessor | Varsity Transit |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Defunct | 2010s |
| Fate | Discontinued operations; headquarters taken over by Total Transportation and L&M Bus Corp. |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
| Owner | Former executives from Green Bus Lines |
Varsity Bus Company operated as a school bus service provider in New York City, founded in 2003 following the acquisition of routes from Varsity Transit, which had been active from 1965 until 2003. Varsity Bus Company discontinued its operations by the 2010s, and its former headquarters were subsequently occupied by Total Transportation and L&M Bus Corp.
Between 1979 and 2005, the affiliate of Varsity Transit, Command Bus Company, managed two local routes along with seven express routes, all of which are currently overseen by MTA Bus Company. Ownership of Varsity Transit and Command Bus Company was split among Green Bus Lines and Triboro Coach at 40% each, with the remaining 20% held by Jamaica Central Railways. The ownership of Varsity Bus Company belongs to former executives from Green Bus Lines.
Command Bus
The origins of Command Bus trace back to Pioneer Bus Corporation, established in 1954 by three operators specializing in school and charter bus services. Prior to 1960, Pioneer focused exclusively on school transportation, charter services, and racetrack buses before obtaining a franchise for the B100 route. The introduction of express bus services occurred in 1972. On October 22, 1979, Command Bus Company was officially formed by William Cooper (1895–1985) to restore service after a strike had halted Pioneer's express and local routes.
Jerome Cooper (1928–2015) served as chairman for both Varsity Transit and Command Bus Company, illustrating their joint ownership with Green Bus Lines, Triboro Coach, and Jamaica Central Railways. Command’s operations were relocated from their shared facility with Varsity Transit to the NYCDOT Spring Creek Depot in Brooklyn. This depot was later leased to MTA Bus when Command’s routes transitioned in 2005.
In 1988, two buses operated by Command were outfitted with compressed natural gas (CNG) engines supplied by Brooklyn Union Gas Company. By the mid-1990s, a significant portion of Command’s fleet utilized CNG fuel, marking an early example of alternative fuel adoption within New York’s public transit industry.
Bus routes
Command managed multiple routes that continued operating from the Spring Creek Bus Depot after being absorbed by the MTA:
| Route (Name) |
Starting Point | Principal Streets | Ending Point | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Local | |||||
| B100 (Mill Basin Local) |
Midwood East 16th Street & Quentin Road near Kings Highway (Template:NYCS trains) |
Quentin Road, Fillmore Avenue, East 66th Street | Mill Basin 56th Drive & Strickland Avenue |
No service during overnight hours. | |
| B103 (Canarsie Limited) |
Canarsie Williams Avenue & Flatlands Avenue |
|
Downtown Brooklyn Tillary Street & Adams Street near Cadman Plaza- or - Midwood Flatbush Avenue & Nostrand Avenue near Flatbush Avenue (Template:NYCS trains) |
Complete route; no overnight service. | |
| Brooklyn-Manhattan express | |||||
| BM-1 (Mill Basin Express) |
Manhattan |
|
Mill Basin 56th Drive & Strickland Avenue - or - Bergen Beach Avenue U & 71st Street? |
||
| BM-2 (Canarsie Express) |
Midtown Manhattan | Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel; Gowanus Expressway; Prospect Expressway; Coney Island Avenue; Cortelyou Road; Flatbush Avenue; Avenue H; East 80th Street; Avenue M; Pennsylvania Avenue (downtown trips only) | Canarsie Flatlands Avenue & Williams Avenue |
||
| BM-2S (Starrett City Express via Flatlands Avenue) |
Lower Manhattan | Starrett City Pennsylvania & Seaview Avenues. |
| ||
| BM-3 (Kingsbay Express) |
Manhattan | Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel; Gowanus Expressway; Prospect Expressway; Coney Island Avenue; Cortelyou Road; Ocean Avenue; Batchelder Street; Shore Parkway; Emmons Avenue | Sheepshead Bay Emmons Avenue & Shore Boulevard |
||
| BM-4 (Gerritsen Beach Express) |
Midtown Manhattan East 57th Street & 2nd Avenue |
Gerritsen Beach Gerritsen & Lois Avenues |
| ||
| BQM-1 (Starrett City Express) |
Midtown Manhattan East 57th Street & 2nd Avenue |
|
Starrett City Pennsylvania & Seaview Avenues. |
| |
!colspan=5|Special Services — All discontinued as of 2001 |}
These special transit lines linked prominent racetracks and stadiums with neighborhoods in Brooklyn and terminals in Manhattan. Key routes included:
- BMJ-1, Meadowlands Special serving Sheepshead Bay via main avenues connecting to Meadowlands Raceway.
- BMJ-2, Meadowlands Special for Starrett City traversing Flatlands Ave. and Kings Hwy.
- BQ-5, Race Track Special for Bay Ridge providing service to Aqueduct Raceway or Belmont Park via Linden Blvd. and Pennsylvania Ave.
- BQ-10, Race Track Special for Midwood covering Flatbush Ave., Church Ave., Linden Blvd., Conduit Blvd.
- BQ-11, Race Track Special for Coney Island following Kings Hwy. or Stillwell Ave. routes connecting to Flatlands Ave. and Pennsylvania Ave.
- BQ-12, Shea Special linking Shea Stadium with the Flatbush area through major corridors including Woodhaven Blvd. and Long Island Expressway.
- BW-4, Yonkers Raceway Special connecting Bay Ridge with Yonkers Raceway using several expressways.
These specialized services catered specifically to event attendees until their termination in 2001.