The Hasids on the bus say move on back…

Once there were signs on street trees in Williamsburg telling women to move to the side when a man approached, I knew this day was not far off.

And, now, here it is: Women riding the B110 bus in Brooklyn are being told by Hasidic men that they must ride in the back of the bus.

Ride in the back of the bus? Sound familiar? Did these people sleep through the Civil Rights Movement? 

Here’s the deal:

The B110 is a public bus, operated by a private company (Private Transportation Corporation— points for originality!) which pays the city to run the bus line.The arrangement has been in place since at least 1973

Last year, the franchise paid the city $22,814 to operate the route, which seems a little low if you ask me since they get to keep the fares they collect.

I’m not usually one to volunteer to do math, but this time I couldn’t resist:

$22,814 / $2.50 (1 fare) = 9125.6 paying passengers

9125.6  / 365 (days per year) = 25.001 passengers per day

Let’s play nice and round that up to 26.

26 passengers per day? That seems highly unlikely. Something smells gefilte fishy!

Aside from this weird operation agreement, the route is a bonafide public bus. It gets the standard MTA bus poles along with all the others, and is subject to the same laws, which include anti-discrimination laws. 

So what is going on here? 

DOT says 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.”

Sometimes franchises are granted exceptions, but DOT says that the B110 had not been granted any exceptions to anti-discrimination laws.

The NYC Human Rights Commission says: “Discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations in New York City is against the law.”

The Hasids on the bus say: “If God makes a rule, you don’t ask ‘Why make the rule?’”

Where’s that passage in the Torah about moving to the back of the bus again? Ah, yes, Bulllshit 1:11.