Photo by Joanne Beck
After two months of presentations to local companies and organizations about the changes being made to RTS Genesee’s bus route, those changes took effect this week based out of Batavia City Centre, Regional Manager Ricardo Santiago says.
The company expanded two former bus routes that were from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and lengthened them for a full day of 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with more frequent stops, Santiago said.
“Routes start at 6:30 a.m. and they go all the way to the last set of buses leave out of City Centre at 5:30 p.m. servicing one last hour of bus rides throughout the county, between Batavia and Le Roy. We have four new routes that provide more service, more frequent stops, and for longer times during the day,” Santiago said to The Batavian. “Not only did we expand the hours of service we are now, we basically have a help center at City Centre where we all buses meet at the bottom of the hour, and they all leave at the same time.
"They go out and they do their run, and all buses come back within the hour," he said. "They're back at City Centre so people can transfer from one location to another and proceed to the next location.”
The bus stop is to the left of the former J.C. Penney building, though that will move after the new police facility is completed, he said. A more permanent bus stop with shelter for patrons will be set up on Alva Place next April, he said.
A misnomer is that the dial-a-ride has been eliminated, which isn’t true, he said. That service is on a first come, first served basis, and is urged for riders going to areas not serviced by the regular bus routes.
The company has attempted to educate the public via a public hearing and information sessions to get the word out about the change.
“One of the things we’ve done is we’ve been going out for the last eight weeks and making presentations to Office for the Aging, ACE Employment, DSS (and others)," he said.
A few readers have contacted The Batavian with questions about this change, so here's a reminder about the routes and where to get more information.
The expanded courses are to improve the frequency of routes in Batavia and Le Roy, simplify the route structure and provide RTS enhanced ability to improve service through reliability and new destinations, a company press release states.
New RTS Genesee Service includes four routes:
- Route 210, Batavia West, which serves Big Tree Glen, the VA, Tops, Walmart and Target.
- Route 211, Batavia South, serving Birchwood Place, the VA, Tops, Walmart and Target.
- Route 212, Batavia East, which goes to 400 Towers, Washington Towers, United Memorial Medical Center and the Department of Social Services.
- Route 214, Le Roy/Stafford, which serves Royal Apartments, Tops, Save-a-Lot, Le Roy Meadows and DSS. The bus also provides service within Le Roy and a connection to Batavia.
All routes will meet at a common transfer point at Batavia City Centre. Dial-a-Ride service will remain as an option. Schedules and holiday observances are available on the RTS website.
For more information, call RTS Genesee at 585-343-3079 or visit www.myRTS.com.
