Rockland Coaches

Coach USA Rockland Coaches
(The Red & Tan Lines)
A Rockland Coaches bus at Nanuet Mall
ParentCoach USA
Founded1917
Headquarters160 NJ Route 17, Paramus, New Jersey, U.S.
Service areaBergen County, New Jersey and Rockland County, New York
Service typeCommuter bus service
Routes6
HubsNanuet Mall, Port Authority Bus Terminal
FleetSee "Fleet" section below.
All buses owned by New Jersey Transit
Fuel typeDiesel-fueled motorcoaches
OperatorCoach USA
Chief executiveGeorge Grieve
WebsiteOfficial website

Rockland Coaches Inc., formerly known as The Red and Tan Lines, and locally shortened to Red and Tan, is a commuter coach company owned by Coach USA based in Westwood, New Jersey, that operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, New Jersey, and Rockland County, New York, and provides local bus service in both locales north of Route 46. Coach USA acquired the company in 1997.[1]

In June 2024, Coach USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming corporate impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has plans to sell its assets, and plans to sell its Megabus subsidiaries (including Rockland) to Bus Company Holdings, a unit of the Renco Group.[2]

Routes

Between Bergen and Rockland Counties, and New York City, Rockland Coaches provides service along six routes.

Route ends are given for each route except for branching. Some trips may only serve a portion of the route.

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many routes were suspended or limited to peak-only service. Throughout 2020, 2021, and 2022, this limited-service schedule remained, however on April 1, 2023, limited Saturday service was restarted on the 11X and 45 routes.[3]

On October 23, 2023, weekend service was reinstated on the 9A and 9T routes. In addition, limited off-peak weekday service was added on the 9A, 9T, and 20 routes. In this service change, Saturday service on the 45 was also cut.[4] Despite these changes, most routes remain peak-only and commuter-oriented, and some routes remain suspended as of May 2023.[5][6]

Route list

Route Termini Notes
9A[5][a] New York City
George Washington Bridge Bus Station 		New City
Route 304 Park and Ride
  • Operates weekend service
  • Operates limited off-peak weekday service
  • Operates mainly along the route of the Hudson River
9T[5][a] New York City
Port Authority Bus Terminal
11A[5] Stony Point
Route 202 Park and Ride
11X[7] Spring Valley
Metro-North station
  • Saturday service only
  • Serves Middletown park and ride in Clarkstown only on northbound trips
  • Operates mainly along Middletown Rd
20[6] Nanuet
Nanuet Mall
  • Weekday only
  • Limited weekday off-peak service, mostly in the southbound direction
  • Operates mainly along the route of the Northern Branch
45[7] Mount Ivy
Route 45 Park and Ride
  • Peak hour service only
  • Operates mainly along Route 45
47/49 Hybrid[5] New City
Route 304 Park and Ride
  • Weekday only
  • Limited southbound-only weekday off-peak service
  • Limited southbound-only peak-only service operates via the Palisades Center

Former routes

  • Rockland Coaches operated Transport of Rockland from 1976 to 2013, when it lost the contract.[8]
  • The 14, 21T, 46, and 49J, all commuter routes operating to New York City, have been suspended since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fleet

Rockland Coaches' fleet consists of exclusively NJ Transit-owned MCI coach buses. The fleet consisted of older MC-series coaches, which were replaced with D4000 and D4500 coaches in the early 2000s. From 2019 to 2021, Rockland Coaches received brand-new D4500CT coaches to gradually replace the older D4000 and D4500 coaches.[9]

Current fleet

All buses owned by New Jersey Transit Bus Operations. Only units originally allocated from the NJ Transit bus fleet to Rockland Coaches are shown.

Fleet Numbers Photo Year Make Model Notes
19001-19030 2019 MCI D4500CT #19015 owned by New Jersey Transit,operating out of Coach USA Rockland Coaches on the MTA LIRR shuttle 2019 MCI D4500CT
20149-20168 20157 on the Route 20 2020 MCI D4500CT
  • Began revenue service in October 2021.

Retired fleet

Fleet Numbers Photo Year Make Model Notes
8454-8505
8512-8513 		2001 MCI D4000
  • Transferred to other operators.
  • Retired and replaced with newer D4500CT coaches.
8554-8555
8836-8845
8877-8889 		2003 MCI D4000
  • Retired and replaced with newer D4500CT coaches.
21198-21241 21201 Rockland Coaches on the 351 2021 MCI D4500CT
  • Returned to New Jersey Transit in 2024.
  • Some units never operated before returning to NJT.

Notes

  1. ^ a b All Route 9 buses are listed online as "9/9A", however the actual buses going to each NYC terminal denote which bus is which. Buses signed as 9A go to GWB Terminal and ones signed as 9T go to PABT.

References

  1. ^ Coleman-Lochner, Lauren (March 6, 1997). "Coach takes over Red & Tan". The Record. Bergen County, N.J., United States. pp. –1. ProQuest 424850737. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Coach USA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware". Bloomberg Law. June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Rockland Coaches Service Increase". www.coachusa.com. October 23, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Ticket Fare Page". www.coachusa.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Ticket Fare Page". www.coachusa.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Ticket Fare Page". www.coachusa.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Saeed, Khurram (October 30, 2013). "Judge dismisses lawsuit; Brega takeover of TOR, Tappan ZEExpress buses is Sunday". lohud.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Coyne, Matt (February 18, 2016). "Rockland Coaches in line for 64 new buses". lohud.com.

Official website