RTS on Thursday announced several changes to its bus routes and stops. Changes to routes and route numbers will be made in conjunction with the opening of the RTS Transit Center on November 28, 2014. In addition, new bus stop signage will be installed system wide in 2015. Here’s what you’ll need to know…

First, a little background info. With the opening of the new transit center, all routes will now start and end downtown. This means if you’re used to traveling THROUGH downtown on the same bus without transferring, beginning on November 28, you will need to transfer to a second bus.

Because of this, route numbers will be changing.

For example, Lake Ave. and Park Ave. are now two separate routes. The #1 Lake Ave bus will no longer travel through to Park Ave – after arriving downtown, it will instead return back up Lake Ave. Therefore Park Ave. (and many others) will need its own route number. Below is the list of the new route numbers. West side routes are color coded blue, and east side routes are green…

In addition, RTS has completed a Bus Stop Optimization Study with the goal of reducing the overall number of stops and reduce travel time.

One RTS handout explains, “In Monroe County, we have about 3,400 RTS bus stops. Over time, the usage of some bus stops has changed, and some bus stop locations aren’t in ideal locations nor convenient for customers… In comparison to other communities of similar size, RTS has more stops per mile. While this may sound beneficial, too many stops can mean longer rides and delays for our customers.”

In order to decide which stops stay and which should go, RTS took inventory of all 3,393 bus stops, paying special attention to the condition of each one (is there a shelter? a concrete pad? mud/dirt? etc). They then analyzed the number of bus stops per mile on each bus route and in each direction of travel, considering key factors such as: customer use statistics; distance between stops; and if stops headed to or from the city were paired with one another.

Of 3,393 bus stops, 909 (or 26%) are being removed.

If you attended the public workshop, RTS representatives were on hand to help answer questions. But if you missed the workshop and would like to know if your stop is being removed, moved, or kept, you can either email Monroe@myRTS.com, call 585-288-1700, or download the complete list of changes .

UPDATE: At Reconnect Rochester’s request, RTS has published a Google map of the changes for you to review.

But Wait, There’s More…

About three years ago some of us at Reconnect Rochester met with RTS and suggested redesigning the current bus stop signage. Rochester’s bus stop signs are, well, not always as helpful as they could be (see above). Remember this post on RochesterSubway.com?

Well, the folks at RTS listened! Finally, in 2015 Rochester will have much smarter looking (and more useful) bus stop signs. Take a look…

Contact RTS