POMONA -- The Rockland County Department of Public Transportation has issued an advisory to riders that a mini-bus that has been operating along Route 59 is not part of the Transport of Rockland (TOR) or Tappan Zee Express (TZx) bus services.

The mini-bus – a white, Ford Model 450 labeled as bus #564 – has been operating in violation of state Transportation Law and in fact, earlier this week, investigators issued the operator of the mini-bus a notice of violation for operating without proper state authority.

The side of the unauthorized, white mini-bus says “H & T Transportation” and has been operating with New York State license plates. It has no other logos or insignias and has no owner or operator name displayed anywhere on the vehicle.

The mini-bus has been charging fares and picking up passengers along Route 59, primarily between Nyack and Suffern and points in between. The bus has been operating with a “59” destination sign at the front of the bus above the windshield and often follows in front of or behind an actual TOR bus. It has become apparent that passengers have mistakenly believed the bus is part of the TOR #59 service, Rockland officials said Wednesday.

To ensure passengers are boarding an authorized TOR or Tappan Zee Express (TZx) vehicle, passengers should always look for the green and white buses with the TOR or TZx logo prominently displayed on the side of the bus. The owner (County of Rockland) and operator (Rockland Transit Corp. or Hudson Transit Corp.) names are prominently displayed on the right, front side of the bus next to the door.