The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (Centro) recently received $3 million from the 2023 omnibus appropriations bill. That funding is going toward the implementation of a bus rapid transit system.
The bus rapid transit is a $35 million project designed to improve Centro's transit services. Steve Koegel, vice president of communications and business planning at Centro, said the funding will primarily go toward the purchase of new buses and bus stations and is focused on the Syracuse area in the corridors along James Street and the University Hill area. He said bus rapid transit is unlike anything Centro has done before.
"Buses will make fewer stops," Koegel said. "They will run much more frequently than our existing service. It's a big deal to our customers to have a bus service that runs every 15 minutes or so along a certain corridor."
With less stops between destinations, Koegel said riders will be able to get to their next destinations faster which he hopes will increase the appeal of the bus service.
"It may require individuals to walk a little further to the bus stop," Koegel said. "The bus stop [which] may be located a block from their house is now 3 blocks from their house. But that bus is going to run every 15 minutes and we're probably going to continue to have some level of what we call local service along these corridors."
A bike and scooter share program is also being explored to help fill in transportation gaps. Other changes riders could see with the bus rapid transit system are enhanced bus stations which could accommodate more people and could show live arrival times of bus routes.
Another change coming to Centro soon: on-demand service. Koegel said you could request a ride on an app or by a phone call saying it's kind of like Uber.
"You may be asked to walk to a centralized location where yourself and maybe two other individuals will be picked up by that vehicle and then taken to maybe a common destination," Koegel said. "It's a more efficient use of resources and it also provides individuals an opportunity to use our bus services that aren't on a fixed schedule."
Koegel said Centro aims to have the on-demand service operational within a year. The bus rapid transit system will take longer with supply chain issues affecting when new buses can be acquired.
Centro plans to hold a series of meetings where community members can provide feedback and receive more information about the transit system's upcoming projects.
