Centro Rescinds Plan to Eliminate Mohawk-Burrstone
Bus Route.
Bus route will be preserved, but scaled back.
Utica, NY – Due in part to significant customer feedback, Centro will continue to provide service on its 14 /114 Mohawk-Burrstone route, abandoning a plan to completely discontinue the bus route.
In November, Centro announced that it would discontinue the 14 / 144 Mohawk-Burrstone bus route in an effort to help close a $6 million budget deficit caused by the continuing reduction of New York State subsidies which fund a significant portion of Centro’s operating budget.
However, since that announcement, Centro has reworked its original plan, designed to save nearly $600,000 in annual operating costs.
“Our redesigned concept will save close to that amount,” said Centro of Oneida General Manager Ron Bucciero. “Most importantly, we have preserved bus routes to all the areas we currently serve. However, some of those services will run less frequently.”
Under the new plan, Centro will continue to operate weeknight service along the Mohawk – Burrstone corridor, but will reduce its weekday service to mid-days only. The weeknight service will be a consolidation of Centro’s 15 James St. and Mohawk-Burrstone routes. The weekday service will be identical to the current Mohawk–Burrstone bus route.
In addition, Centro will adjust the rush hour frequency of its South Street bus service to match the frequency of most Centro routes.
“Nearly all of our bus routes currently operate on a 40 minute frequency. The South Street Service, which currently operates every 20 minutes, will now match those bus routes,” said Bucciero. Bucciero also says all South Street trips that are through routed to Lenox Avenue will be retained and only the shorter trips that end downtown will be discontinued.
By redesigning the service reductions and continuing service along the Mohawk – Burrstone corridor, Centro will continue to provide critical evening transportation services for employees at nearby hospitals and provide direct service for students and other East Side resident who wish to travel to/from Utica College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Consumer Square and other locations.
“The feedback from individuals who would have been most affected by our original proposal has been helpful,” said Bucciero. “In coming weeks, we will work with organizations such as local colleges to determine the exact trip times of the mid-day service along the Mohawk –Burrstone corridor.”
The redesigned bus routes are scheduled to go into effect on March 29, 2010. Centro will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. The hearing will be held at the Radisson Hotel from 4pm -7pm.
Butternut St. Bridge Closure forces Centro to Detour Routes
Syracuse, NY --Due to the closure of the Butternut Street bridge in Syracuse, Centro will re-route
buses away from that location, effective January 4, 2010.
Centro buses that are scheduled to enter Interstate 81 at the Butternut Street on-ramp will be
re-routed to enter Interstate 81 at the Pearl Street on-ramp and will not operate on Franklin Street
between Genesee St and Butternut St. until the bridge re-opens.
This will affect the following northbound buses that use the Butternut Street on-ramp:
46/146 Liverpool / Rt. 57
48/148/248 Liverpool / Morgan Road
50/150 Carousel
86/186/286 Henry Clay
88/188/288 North Syracuse
388 Central Square
246 Oswego
776 LeMoyne / Carousel
Other routes may be affected depending on traffic volume in the area.
Syracuse, NY- Centro unveiled a new bus shelter at the corner of South Salina and East Colvin Streets, located in front of the Onondaga County Public Library Beauchamp Branch during a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10a.m. on the morning of December 11, 2009.
“It has been a pleasure working with Centro to provide our community with this additional amenity,” said Syracuse Common Council President-Elect Van Robinson, who requested the bus shelter. “Our community relies on Centro for many of its transportation needs and this new shelter should be a tremendous benefit.”
“Van Robinson came to us on behalf of the residents and merchants in that neighborhood,” said Central New York Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director, Frank Kobliski. “We were able to accommodate his request and provide this shelter as the severe weather hits our community. We believe this will be a welcomed convenience with the changing of the seasons.”
The bus shelter is located along the Salina St.- Nedrow corridor.
Centro Announces Service Reductions to Close Budget Gap
Syracuse, NY – In an effort to help close a projected $6 million budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2010, Centro is announcing service reductions that will go into effect in March. The changes include the consolidation, reduction or discontinuance of a select number of bus services that are performing poorly in Syracuse and Onondaga County and reconfiguration of service along one bus route in Utica.
“These reductions in Syracuse were originally proposed during a series of public hearings held in February of this year and were deferred in order to preserve these services for as long as possible for our customers,” said CNYRTA Executive Director Frank Kobliski. “However, our fiscal situation has reached a point where we can no longer financially support these services.”
In Utica, Centro is proposing a reconfiguration and consolidation of bus routes that currently serve customers along its 14 Mohawk Route.
“We are carefully looking at ways to most efficiently provide our services while maintaining our customers’ access to our bus systems,” said CNYRTA Executive Director Frank Kobliski.
“Our Utica staff has conducted research in order to try and identify neighborhoods that can be more efficiently served.”
At this time, we are focusing on the corridor along our 14 Mohawk Route which also has nearby service from the following Centro routes: 111 New York Mills, 12 Bleeker St., 15 James St., 20 Lenox, 22 South St., 24 Genesee St., and 31 Oneida – Chadwicks. Our proposal would discontinue the Mohawk route while adding evening service to the 20 Lenox route in order to meet the demands of Utica College, St. Luke’s Hospital, ConMed and the Utica Business Park. A public hearing on the proposed changes in Utica will be held on January 26, 2010 at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Utica from 4-7pm.
Centro’s budget deficit has been created by the erosion of Centro’s two most vital funding sources: New York State transit operating assistance and the mortgage recording tax. The two funding sources account for more than 50% of Centro’s operating budget.
The projected savings from the service reductions, along with a proposed route consolidation in the City of Utica, would be approximately $1.3 million. Centro will fill the remainder of its $6 million budget gap through the use of reserve funds and by shifting federal grant money previously targeted for capital expenses to cover its operational costs. The shifting of these capital funds will have no affect on Centro’s plans to relocate its transfer hub in downtown Syracuse.
Centro has no current plans to raise its base fares for its customers. There are no proposed service reductions for Centro bus services in Oswego or Cayuga counties at this time.
The following Syracuse routes will be affected:
Route 723 Minoa-Suburban East.
This route will be discontinued. Rush hour service connecting Minoa to downtown Syracuse will still be available on Centro’s 323x Minoa route. Centro will adjust its midday service on its existing 62 Fayetteville Manlius route to serve the North East Medical Center, which is currently served by the Route 723 Minoa-Suburban East.
Route 78 Fairmount & Route 178 Fairmount
These two routes will be consolidated into a single route operating during morning and evening rush hours. Midday service would be discontinued, however midday service to the St. Camillus Residential Health Care facility will be maintained on Centro’s 66 Grand Avenue route.
Route 72 East Colvin
Some trips will be discontinued. Customers will still be able to access the Loretto and Iroquois senior facilities via Centro’s 240 Nob Hill route.
Route 70 Oak-Darlington
This route will be discontinued. Customers in this area have nearby access to the Centro bus system on the following routes: 116 North Salina, 20 James St, 52 Court – Park and 80 Grant Blvd.
Route 62 Fayetteville – Manlius
Midday service will operate between Manlius, Fayetteville and Shoppingtown Mall. Those that wish to continue to downtown Syracuse during middays can make a direct transfer at Shoppingtown Mall to other Centro bus routes that serve downtown. This route will now serve the North East Medical Center in order to compensate for the discontinuance of the 723 Suburban East – Minoa route.
Kobliski Elected President of NYPTA for Second Term
Albany, NY—Frank Kobliski, Executive Director of the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority in Syracuse, was elected President of the New York Public Transit Association, Inc. (NYPTA) at the 2009 Public Transit Fall Conference in Albany, N.Y.
“I am honored to be elected as President of this association once again. This is a critical time for public transportation. One of our main objectives will be to secure adequate and reliable funding for public transit authorities across New York State to ensure the long term health of our transportation systems,” said Kobliski.
As President, Kobliski will be responsible for overseeing the business of the association and will serve as the primary spokesperson for the public transportation industry in New York State.
It is the second time Kobliski has been elected as NYPTA President. He previously served a two- year term as President from 2003-2005. Kobliski has also served as NYTPA Vice-President and as a member of the NYPTA Board of Directors and Chair of the Legislative & Policy Committee.
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