Back Of The Bus, Ladies

Failed Messiah points out that a Brooklyn-based bus company contracted to run a public route instructs its female riders that they must ride in the back. The company, which is paid by New York City to operate a line between two major Hasidic neighborhoods, denies it forces women to the back of their buses, even though its own schedule commands such in Yiddish.

The B110 is a privately operated public bus line. The contract to operate it was put up for bid by the city years ago and was awarded to a hasidic-owned bus company, Private Transportation Corporation. The B110 runs between the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park and Williamsburg, two hasidic population centers. It uses public bus stops on city streets and is a part of the city's public transportation system and it is required to follow New York City, New York State and Federal law – including laws that prohibit discrimination by race, national origin, sexual orientation and gender.

The above instruction reads: "According to the psak [religious ruling] of the rabbis, men should concentrate themselves in the front seats in the first half of the bus, and women in the second half. Under no circumstances will men be allowed to stand in the second half of the bus, among the women, nor will women be allowed among the men in the first half of the bus."