One Brooklyn bus is not like the others.
A New York World exclusive reveals that the B110, which runs between Williamsburg and Borough Park, requires women to sit in the back of the bus, per a Hasidic tradition prohibiting the intermingling of the sexes.
Author Sasha Chavkin writes:
It is the only remaining bus line in New York City that operates as a franchise, in which a private company, Private Transportation Corporation, pays the city for the right to provide a public service. The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee defines a franchise on its website as “the right to occupy or to use the City’s inalienable property, such as streets or parks, for a public service, e.g., transportation.” The agreement goes back to at least 1973, and last year the franchise paid the city $22,814 to operate the route, according to the New York City Department of Transportation.
Still, there is a question of whether such a bus violates any anti-discrimination laws:
The Department of Transportation, which issues the franchise, confirms that it understands the B110 to be subject to anti-discrimination laws. “This is a private company, but it is a public service,” said Seth Solomonow, a spokesman for the DOT. “The company has to comply with all applicable laws.”
Following the New York World’s inquiry, Solomonow said DOT would contact Private Transportation Corporation, and insist that it end the practice of requiring women to ride in the back. “We are reaching out to the company about this alleged incident to ask for its response, with the expectation that it will take steps to prevent the occurrence of incidents of this nature,” he said.
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