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Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
Reconnect Rochester, RTS Partner to Stop the Exodus of $1.5 Million Vanishing from the Local Economy Daily
Riders with a “UFO” pin will be able to ride local buses for free all day on October 20, the first Critical Mass Transit Day. The UFO promotion is part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the $1.5 million in gasoline money that is ‘abducted’ from our local economy every day.
Reconnect Rochester will be handing out UFO pins
at local farmer’s markets throughout October:
Critical Mass Transit is a joint effort by Regional Transit Service (RTS) and Reconnect Rochester, a transit advocacy group that suggests by using public transit as an alternative to driving a car, Rochesterians have the power to reinvest those dollars back into Rochester’s economy.
THE SAVINGS ARE VERY REAL! According to CommuteSolutions.org, those who drive to work everyday alone can incur costs that exceed $1 per mile. That includes fuel, maintenance, parking and depreciation, and depends on vehicle type and driving habits. By comparison, a ride on an RTS bus costs one dollar.
In addition to the personal savings, every one-dollar invested in public transportation can generate $4 in economic returns for our area. Conversely, nearly every dollar we burn on gasoline leaves Rochester.
Making smarter choices when it comes to transportation is an easy way for households to save money, and grow our region’s economy over the long run.
On October 20, proudly display your pin. Even if you just go for a joy-ride down the street, the idea is to learn about our transit system and show your support for the future of public transit in Rochester.
Need Assistance Using RTS?
Download this Commuter Resources sheet [PDF] for handy RTS transit tips. You can also call RTS at 585-288-1700 for help planning a trip or contact the volunteers at Reconnect Rochester—they can help you decipher the routes and schedules.
Tags: Critical Mass Transit Day, Regional Transit Service (RTS), Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Vanishing
Posted in News, Things You Can Do To Help | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Sorry if we caused a mass panic last week with all of the reports of UFO’s and abductions. We staged the whole UFO thing. But we can’t apologize for the adbuctions. As it turns out, every dollar we spend on gasoline, over $1.5 MILLION each day*, leaves the local economy never to be seen again. Vanished! The numbers are real. The UFO’s are not. We can do something about the vanishing resources.
Did you know every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns. It’s true. Households that use public transportation and live with one less car can save on average $9,000 every year.[1]
The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester find these numbers downright frightening. And we’re doing something about. We’ve organized a ‘human resistance’ movement have been getting the word out this weekend at the Greentopia Festival about Critical Mass Transit Day.
ON THE 3RD THURSDAY OF OCTOBER, AND EVERY MONTH THEREAFTER, WE WILL LEAVE OUR CARS AT HOME & JOIN TOGETHER FOR A “CRITICAL MASS” TRANSIT RIDE. EVERYONE IS INVITED! NO ONE IS IN CHARGE! LOOK FOR YOUR COMRADES ON RTS BUSES WEARING THIS PIN…
ON OCTOBER 20 SHOW THIS PIN TO YOUR RTS DRIVER AND RIDE FREE ALL DAY!
THAT part is no hoax. RTS has kindly agreed to honor our NO-UFOs pin as free entry onto any RTS bus all day on October 20. Just flash this pin at the friendly driver. Even if you’ve never ridden RTS before, now is the perfect time to give it a try. If only for one day. To get to work, or for a leisurely trip around the block.
Visit Reconnect Rochester at the Greentopia Festival (High Falls, vendor area, booth 55) and grab your FREE pin today… before they VANISH.
Tags: Critical Mass Transit Day, Greentopia Festival, Rochester Vanishing, RTS
Posted in Events + Meetings, News, Things You Can Do To Help | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
![Greentopia Festival gets ready to kick off this weekend. Workers in the High Falls neighborhood were invited to a picnic lunch today on the newly 'green' Commercial Street. [PHOTO: VJ Ortiz]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-greentopia-ufo-sighting.jpg)
The Greentopia Festival is getting ready to kick off this weekend. Check out the photo above, snapped earlier today on Commercial Street. Ain’t that something?!
The two-day, interactive fest in historic High Falls will reveal what the region is doing to help the environment – and envision a greener Rochester of the future. The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester are VERY excited to have a booth at this brand new event to help promote the green movement and alternate forms of transportation.
I won’t give away the surprise, but we’ll be featuring an out-of-this-world exhibit highlighting some “green” benefits of transit you probably never knew.
Announcing the FIRST EVER
“Critical Mass Transit Day!”
Reconnect Rochester is using this weekend’s event to get the word out about the first ever “Critical Mass Transit Day”—taking place on the 3rd Thursday of October (10/20/2011) and every month thereafter.
Similar to the cycling version of Critical Mass where cyclists take to the streets on human-powered modes of transport, Critical Mass Transit will be a celebration of greener, more social forms of transportation. The rules are simple: on the 3rd Thursday of every month, leave your car at home and walk, bike, or roller skate to the nearest bus stop. Take the bus to work (or where ever it is you go during the day) and then take it back home at the end of the day.
Get Your FREE Ride…
To make things a little more interesting, we’ve teamed up with the Transit Authority to offer you a FREE day on RTS. You heard me right… The first Critical Mass Transit Day can be absolutely FREE for you… No strings. All you have to do is visit our booth at the Greentopia Festival and say hello.
So come visit us Saturday or Sunday in the High Falls overlook area (where Browns Race and Commercial Street meet) and get green with us.
Tags: Critical Mass, Critical Mass Transit Day, Greentopia Festival, High Falls, Reconnect Rochester, Rochester, UFO
Posted in Events + Meetings, News, Things You Can Do To Help | No Comments »
Friday, September 9th, 2011
 The U.S. House of Representatives just stripped funding for the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Senate will consider funding for the Partnership next Thursday.
NOW is the time to tell your Senators to maintain funding for this important program.
These are tough economic times, which makes it even more important to keep the innovative programs that put federal dollars to good use rebuilding our local economies, strengthening our communities, and creating necessary jobs.
Earlier this year when the Partnership was under threat, your voices made a real difference and funding was preserved. Now we need your voices to be heard even louder.
Tell your Senators: Protect funding for the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
Make sure that Congress knows we will not accept shortsighted cuts that sacrifice the health of our communities.
From connecting affordable housing with jobs to turning dilapidated lots into vibrant downtown centers, the Partnership is making a difference in our communities, where we are hurting the most.
Please tell your lawmakers not to take away crucial opportunities for our communities.
This is the time when we need your voice the most. Thank you for all that you do.
Tags: Partnership for Sustainable Communities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develompent (USHUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
Posted in News, Things You Can Do To Help | 1 Comment »
Saturday, August 20th, 2011
![Pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders in Rochester (and across New York state) will soon benefit from a new Complete Streets law. Thanks to the volunteers at Reconnect Rochester and outspoken citizens like you! [FLICKR PHOTO: _Yoshi]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/monroe-avenue.jpg)
Earlier this year, Reconnect Rochester teamed up with Tri-State Transportation Campaign and other transportation advocacy groups from around New York state in an effort to mobilize support for, and urge Governor Cuomo to sign New York’s first Complete Streets law. Thousands of you and other New Yorkers signed petitions and wrote and called your representatives. It made all the difference, helping to get this issue onto the agendas of elected officials and making sure it passed during a busy legislative session.
Earlier this week Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill that will make streets safer for everyone. The law will ensure that major road projects take into account the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and people of all ages and abilities.
Whether young or old; on foot, in a wheelchair, on a bike, or in a car, everyone is safer when roads are designed so everyone can use them. Roads designed according to complete streets principles are safer and encourage walking and cycling, leading to healthier neighborhoods and better quality of life. This is an extremely important reform that will save lives.
Thank YOU for helping to win positive change!
Tags: bicycling, complete streets, Governor Andrew Cuomo, pedestrians, transit, transportation, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Posted in News | No Comments »
Friday, August 19th, 2011
Posted by: John Lam
Scoop one for Reconnect Rochester! Several days ago we noticed Mapnificent.net (a new site for visualizing transit reachability) hadn’t included Rochester among its cities. Clicking into its support forum led me to a post also seeking support for Rochester. A quick search told us our bus company had just announced the public availability of their General Transit Feed Specification, so in response we posted the location of this feed and within an hour Rochester debuted in Mapnificent.
(more…)
Tags: bicycling, land use, real estate, Rochester, transit, walking
Posted in News | No Comments »
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
New Walk Scores are just out. How did Rochester rank? Below is a list of cities equal or greater in population and Rochester’s Walk Score puts us in the #18 slot. Not too shabby – on the surface. But…
![Of cities equal or greater in population, Rochester's Walk Score puts us in the #18 slot. But we have room for improvement. [Source: WalkScore.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-walk-score-1.gif)
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Tags: pedestrians, Rochester, Rochester NY, Walk Score, walkability, WalkScore.com
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Friday, July 8th, 2011
![Rep. John Mica says the transportation sector will 'do more with less.' [PHOTO: Orlando Sentinel]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/john-mica.jpg)
Yesterday morning House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman John Mica unveiled his proposal [PDF, 3.6mb] for t-bill authorization, which amounts to a 33-35% cut to federal transportation spending. Below is a quick thumbnail sketch of his proposal, responses/reactions from other lawmakers & advocacy groups, and three things YOU can do to help stop this train wreck…
(more…)
Tags: Rep. John Mica, transportation, Transportation Reauthorization, U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
Posted in News, Things You Can Do To Help | No Comments »
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
On Thursday, June 16 Reconnect Rochester and the people of Rochester NY, will join the rest of the country for National Dump the Pump Day. We will leave our cars in the driveway and instead use public transit. Share this on Facebook and let your family, friends, co-workers, and employers know.
Useful Information:
Use Google Transit to plan your trip.
Find RTS schedules & route maps .
RTS Fares:
Adults : $1.00
All-Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $3.00
Adult 5–Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $14.00
Adult 31-Day Unlimited Freedom Pass : $56
Children age 6-11 : $0.50
Children age 5 and under : FREE
Senior/Disabled : $0.50
Senior/Disabled 1-Day Unlimited Pass : $1.50
Senior/Disabled 5–Day Unlimited Pass : $7.00
Senior/Disabled 31-Day Unlimited Pass : $28
For more information: www.rgrta.org/CommuterResources
or leave a comment below with any question you might have about riding RTS. We will get you an answer.
Let’s ride!
Tags: National Dump the Pump Day, public transit, Regional Transit Service (RTS), Rochester, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA)
Posted in Events + Meetings, News, Things You Can Do To Help | 9 Comments »
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