Roger Green on the Myth of the Empty Bus and More

Check out Roger Green's post on his TU blog...

Roger discusses recent Letters to the Editor and response from Ray Melleady. He also weighs in with

• Reasons why CDTA's defunct zoned riding system didn't work,
  
• The importance of on-time buses,
  
• The need for additional stops on the Number 12 line,
  
• Applause for Lucile Brewer and her recognition in Metroland
  

Roger also announces the monthly meeting of Citizens for Public Transportation to be held Wednesday January 21 at 7 p.m. at the Main Branch of the Albany Public Library.

As usual, it's worth the read.

Service Cuts announced - to take effect 1/25

The first wave of CDTA service cuts were announced earlier this week and will take effect January 25, 2009.

Here's the announcement:

Schedule Changes Effective 01/25/2009

Please review the changes to see if your route and trips are affected. If you have questions call our Telephone Information Center at 482-8822 or send us an e-mail. cdta@cdta.org

(Albany, NY) - The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) announced that effective Monday, January 26, 2009, a few service changes will be made on the following routes. The route changes are as follows:

Route #16 Downtown Albany Circulator: Route #16 will no longer operate.

Route #51 Broadway: Route #51 will stop at the newly consolidated Department of Social Service Offices located at 797 Broadway, Schenectady and will also service Golub Corporation Offices on every trip. It will no longer service GE, the Rotterdam Square Mall or Curry Road areas. Customers who currently use #51 to get to the Rotterdam Square Mall may connect to Route #62 McClellan Street, #66 Schenectady South Loop, #77 Schenectady North Loop, and #78 Schenectady West Loop at the State and Washington transfer center in downtown Schenectady.

New Schedule Effective January 25, 2009>>

Route #471 Union Avenue: Route #471 will become a seasonal route, operating only during the summer months, beginning in May, to accommodate customers during the Saratoga Spring’s tourist and Race track season.

Route #473 Jefferson Avenue: Minor time adjustments will be made to Route #473 to improve schedule reliability.

New Schedule Effective January 25, 2009>>

Route #84 Watervliet Belt: Route #84 will no longer operate on Saturday or Sunday, but will continue to operate Monday through Friday.

New Schedule Effective January 25, 2009>>

For more information regarding reroutes or other CDTA Service Information, contact CDTA’s Customer Information Center at 482-8822. Information operators are on duty 6am-7pm weekdays and 8:30am-6pm weekends and holidays.

MTA Board and Coalition to Travel to Albany

Check out this post from our friend at Albany's Citizen One (ACO) calling for the CDTA Board of Directors to lobby Albany's legislators for more funding just like the MTA board plans to do on January 13!

ACO references a Daily News article:

MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger and fellow board members will be riding the rails to Albany Jan. 13 to plead with lawmakers for a transit bailout, officials said Tuesday.

The Empire State Transportation Alliance - a coalition of business, civic, labor and environmental groups - also will appeal for more funding for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“Time is of the essence,” board member Allen Cappelli said.

The MTA will be forced to impose sky-high fares and severe service cuts unless there’s a state bailout early next year, transit officials have warned.

Here's the Daily News article ACO in its entirety.