public transportation – Page 3 – Reconnect Rochester

October 4, 2015 by 3 Comments

What’s the frequency, RTS?

Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester

The map above shows Rochester’s public transit network. Looks impressive with all of its lines stretching out across Monroe County. From Webster to Chili; Greece to Penfield; there’s a bus or two to get you there. On the other hand, if our transit network were really as good as it looks on this map, why are less than 2% of all trips in Rochester made using public transit?

Hmmm… Maybe because parking is cheaper than air here in Rochester?

Well, yes. But also, this map might be overstating the effective reach of RTS. Remember, a transit system is only good if it’s there when you need it…

June 8, 2015 by No Comments

ROC Transit Day 2015

ROC Transit Day is next week – Thursday, June 18. Rochester will be going car-free in support of a healthier community and we’ve lined up a fun day to celebrate… bus rides for you and the family, a street dance competition , city-wide treasure hunt , music all afternoon outside Rochester Central Library. Oh, and did someone say flash mob ?

So if you haven’t already, pull together a team of friends or co-workers and hop a bus on June 18. And if you need fare cards, contact us now . See the full event schedule…

April 9, 2015 by 1 Comment

National Day of Advocacy Focuses on Transportation Infrastructure Funding

Story via: RTS

Today, RTS will join with the Genesee Transportation Council, and local leaders and transportation partners to participate in the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) nationwide Stand Up 4 Transportation Day.

RTS CEO Bill Carpenter will be joined by Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, James D. Hoffman, Chairman of the Wayne County Board of Supervisors and Genesee Transportation Council, and representatives from the Rochester Cycling Alliance, Reconnect Rochester, and other organizations for a rally at the RTS Transit Center on Thursday, April 9 at 11 a.m…

March 5, 2015 by 4 Comments

You Can Support Increased Transit Funding in NY State

Story via: NYPTA

The State Senate and Assembly are in final preparation of their one house budget bills. If you’d like to see improved public transit service in NY state, now would be a good time to contact your State Senator and Assembly member to request that they support increased transit funding in the state budget…

January 18, 2015 by 8 Comments

Parking Summit This Wednesday

Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester

This Wednesday, 5:30 – 7:00pm at the Penthouse (1 East Avenue – 11th Floor) you are invited to attend a Downtown Parking Summit external link hosted by the City of Rochester. But this is not a meeting to discuss how we create more parking. We’ve tried that before, and it nearly killed our city.

Reconnect Rochester recognizes the importance of having an adequate supply of downtown parking. However, we believe parking should be one component to a much larger, diverse plan to improve access to downtown…

December 10, 2014 by 2 Comments

Help needed this week on restoring the transit commuter benefit

Via: National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates (NAPTA)

The Commuter Tax Benefit program allows commuters the opportunity to pay for a portion of their commuting expenses with pre-tax dollars. As of January 2014, federal tax law allows commuters to set aside $250 for qualified parking expenses (an increase over the previous year). But workers who use public transit saw their monthly limit shrink from $245 to $130 per month.

This imbalance in the tax code means that transit users could pay as much as $565 in higher taxes annually, while creating a perverse favoritism in the tax code for automobile commuters. As fellow transit advocates, we need you to email your Members of Congress external link and ask that this commuter tax imbalance be fixed…

December 9, 2014 by No Comments

Bus Stop Cubes Are Winning Community Support

Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester

Last month we unveiled an idea to put seating at area bus stops. Our little CUBE seats have since garnered local external link and national attention, and we’ve also been approached by The Harley School, Rochester Community Design Center, and The Strong National Museum of Play about partnering to make this idea a reality! Today, Rochester Transit Service (RTS) official threw their support behind the cubes as well…

November 23, 2014 by 11 Comments

Bus Stop Cubes: a place to rest while you wait

Posted by: Mike Governale, president and co-founder of Reconnect Rochester

Anyone who has ever used public transportation in Rochester is painfully aware of two things: At some point will have to wait for your bus, and when you do, you will probably be standing. But now, Reconnect Rochester is aiming to come up with a solution…

November 9, 2014 by No Comments

Help Move Us Into 2015

Posted by: Mike Governale, President, Reconnect Rochester

Have you been following Reconnect Rochester over the past few years? Do you like the idea of increased transit options and walkable, more vibrant neighborhoods? If so, please consider making a year-end contribution and keep us rolling into 2015…

September 18, 2014 by 21 Comments

RTS Unveils Bus Stop Changes

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…

May 21, 2014 by No Comments

Rochester’s transit system – in the palm of your hand

A new RTS mobile app is now available for download in the Google Play Store external link and Apple iTunes App Store .

The app was first introduced to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) community in February and is now being rolled out to the full RTS ridership. In a statement sent to Reconnect Rochester, RGRTA said, “We received great feedback from students at RIT which allowed us to incorporate additional features to this version of the RTS Where’s My Bus? mobile app.” The resulting app is a reliable and convenient tool that will make the bus riding experience easier than ever. Here are some of its features…

April 22, 2014 by No Comments

‘How to Ride the Bus’ Workshop, April 29

Getting on a bus for the first time can feel awkward for some. If the last bus you took was a yellow school bus, you might be due for a refresher course. RTS has scheduled a “How to Ride the Bus” transit orientation for 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, April 29, at Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) John G. Doyle Jr. Administration Building located at 1372 East Main Street external link . The orientation is the first of a series designed to help guide first-time riders of any age or those who might need a brush up. All are free and open to the public…

March 25, 2014 by No Comments

Proposed Schedule & Route Changes for RTS

The new RTS Transit Center will be opening on November 28th, 2014. Coinciding with the transit center opening, RTS is also proposing changes to bus routes and schedules. This is to accommodate the additional time required to travel through the Transit Center…

December 9, 2013 by 2 Comments

Route 52 – RTS’ New Crosstown Connection

Immediately after Labor Day, RGRTA CEO Bill Carpenter was on hand for the inaugural voyage of the newest addition to RTS’ stable of bus routes. A route planned with the University of Rochester Medical Center’s parking situation in mind, Route 52 crosses through the heart of the vibrant Monroe and Park Avenue communities before terminating at the brand new East Avenue Wegman’s store.

This new alignment, which follows a rigid 30 minute departure schedule external link from 6-10AM and 2:30-7PM (with a single midday trip), has had us at Reconnect excited for some time. We’ve finally crunched the numbers to bring the public an idea of just how much this development is enhancing service…

September 5, 2013 by 7 Comments

A Better Bus Schedule for Rochester

If you’ve been following along, you know RTS has been trying to apply a little design for the betterment of our transit system. RGRTA is currently studying the idea of new bus stop signs. And they’ve already introduced a better bus pass.

But wait, there’s more! RGRTA recently asked for our help redesigning one of the most important transit tools of all; those big, bad, bus schedules…

July 10, 2013 by No Comments

ROC Transit Day 2013 Photos!

The numbers are in, and out of 950 free fare cards we gave out, 172 were used. That may not seem like a big number, but to us it represents 172 new transit users, on top of tens of thousands of Rochesterians who already choose to go car-free every day. Of course, we think Rochester can do better. And now we’ve got a number to beat next year.a

If you were one of those people who participated, thank you! We can’t explain how much fun we had. You’ll just have to check out the photos below. Special thanks goes to Rick U. at RocPX.com, all our sponsors and volunteers external link and all the people who sent in pics from their ROC Transit Day adventures…

June 19, 2013 by No Comments

ROC Transit Day is Tomorrow!

The 2nd annual ROC Transit Day external link is tomorrow. This little grassroots event has exploded. We’ve handed out 950 transit fare cards. 93 businesses & organizations have chosen to participate. 56 of them are offering fun deals to transit riders. 34 have pledged to ditch their cars and ride transit.

We’ve prepared over 70 prizes from our generous sponsors external link to give away to random bus riders. REX the Rhino has planned his morning bus ride. 8 music buskers are getting ready to play on Main Street (4:30-6:30pm). And happy hour is on at Murphy’s Law (5:30pm).

[ Use this map external link to find all the fun stuff on ROC Transit Day. ]

It’s been an insane two months of planning and excitement is high. But let’s remember the true meaning of ROC Transit Day…

Tomorrow we’ll choose to put our feet on the street instead of the gas pedal. We’ll put our money into the local economy instead of our tanks. And we’ll experience our community up close, instead of from behind our windshields.

Rochester, let’s go – together.

January 19, 2013 by 5 Comments

Transportation Choices and the Impact on Our Community

Posted by: Mike Governale

Greetings. I’m Mike Governale, founder of Reconnect Rochester. I’m a graphic designer, originally from the NYC area and I now live in Rochester, NY. I have a deep fascination and love of cities – how they are formed over time and the way they continue to evolve.

Dense urban places have proven themselves, over tens of thousands of years, to be arguably the most sustainable form of human habitation. But over the past 70 years many cities—especially those in the U.S.—have lost this edge.

I write a blog, RochesterSubway.com external link , that explores Rochester, “America’s first boom-town,” and how it suburbanized itself to near extinction. The site looks at the amazing physical and social history of this place. And what it needs to do before it can become urban, sustainable, and relevant, once again.

Last November I gave a talk at TEDxRochester. The talk focuses on how our transportation choices impact land use, and ultimately the health and sustainability of our community. I think the presentation serves as a good introduction to who I am and why Reconnect Rochester is so important to me…

March 8, 2010 by 7 Comments

Rochester’s Case for a Streetcar Line

The following article was published at RochesterSubway.com on 2010/02/16. Two weeks later 6 citizens got together and Reconnect Rocheseter was born.

Photo simulation of a new Rochester streetcar on Main Street.

America seems to have taken a renewed interest in mobility. Maybe due to President Obama’s recent commitment to high speed rail—or perhaps the positive results seen in towns like Portland and Denver have caught our collective attention. Whatever the reason, from the top down, people are rethinking our automobile-oriented culture—and getting excited about the possibilities.

There’s also good reason to focus on transportation as a way of jump-starting economic development. Industry requires access to people. And people need to have easy access to centers of employment. Continually improving access makes further development possible. Interrupting access will have the opposite effect. Likewise, doing nothing or simply maintaining existing infrastructure for an extended period of time will also hinder development.

For 30+ years Rochester has relied on the infrastructure choices it made in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s. At that time we made development choices that encouraged our population to emigrate from the downtown core. We scrapped our extensive streetcar system, choked off downtown with the construction of the inner-loop, and paved super highways to take us from the city to the NY State Thruway and beyond. Since then that’s exactly where our money, our workforce, and our future have gone—down I-490 and out of state.