Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority

Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority
Company type	Public-benefit corporation
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	1968
Headquarters	Rochester, New York, United States
Key people	Miguel Velazquez (CEO)
Number of employees	1,045 (2017)

The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) is a public-benefit corporation established by New York State, delivering transportation services throughout an eight-county region surrounding Rochester, New York. Under its corporate umbrella, RGRTA oversees eleven subsidiaries, which include paratransit operations. In , these entities collectively achieved an annual ridership totaling , with an average of about weekday passengers reported as of .

Organization

RGRTA is overseen by a board consisting of 16 commissioners, with one seat currently vacant. The executive leadership is headed by CEO Miguel Velazquez, who is accountable to the board. In 2017, the authority disclosed operating costs amounting to $116.51 million and maintained a workforce of 1,045 employees.

Rochester Railway Company

Public transportation in Rochester originated with streetcar and interurban services operated initially by the Rochester Railway Company and subsequently by New York State Railways. Following New York State Railways' receivership in 1929, local investors restructured the enterprise. In 1937, the New York State Public Service Commission sanctioned a reorganization plan crafted by attorney Howard Woods and the shareholders.

Rochester Transit Corporation

On August 2, 1938, bus and streetcar services in Rochester were taken over by the Rochester Transit Corporation. The final streetcar route transitioned to bus service by 1941, although contract operations for the municipally owned Rochester Subway persisted until 1956. In 1943, local control was restored when the company repurchased shares from Associated Gas & Electric.

Transition from Private to Public

The post-World War II suburban growth and rising automobile ownership posed challenges for Rochester Transit Corporation (RTC), which experienced labor disputes including strikes in 1952 and 1965. A lengthy strike commencing in November 1967 prompted the City of Rochester to initiate plans to acquire RTC’s operations. After the strike concluded in January 1968, the city engaged National City Management Company to run bus services under the name Rochester Transit Service.

In 1968, state legislation created the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) alongside similar agencies in Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, and New York City. RGRTA took over former RTC operations from the city and extended bus service coverage into suburban and rural communities. The previous RTC routes were integrated into the Regional Transit Service (RTS) system that serves Rochester and Monroe County.

Regional Transit Service

The largest subsidiary within RGRTA is Regional Transit Service (RTS), which operates primarily in Monroe County, providing transit for Rochester residents, suburbs, and students attending Monroe Community College and Rochester Institute of Technology. RTS also serves the Rochester City School District and offers suburban and park-and-ride routes reaching neighboring counties such as Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, and Wyoming. Key retail destinations connected by RTS in Monroe County include several Walmart stores, Marketplace Mall in Henrietta, Eastview Mall located in Victor, and The Mall at Greece Ridge.

Bus Routes

RTS manages a wide array of routes primarily structured around a hub and spoke system centered at the RTS Transit Center located at 60 St. Paul Street, which commenced operations on November 28, 2014. This central hub supplanted the long-standing stops at Main and Clinton as well as Broad Street that had been in use since 1863. The shift involved a comprehensive reorganization of routes and discontinued through-routing.

On May 17, 2021, RTS introduced the Reimagine RTS initiative, which included a renumbering of routes and the establishment of new Connection Hubs at strategic transit points.

As of April 4, 2022, the RTS network consists of:

Monroe County

RTS Connect:

Route 1 St Paul Local
Route 2 North Clinton Local
Route 3 Joseph Frequent
Route 4 Hudson Frequent
Route 5 Portland Frequent
Route 6 North Goodman Local
Route 7 Clifford/Empire Local
Route 8 East Main Frequent
Route 9 University Local
Route 10 Park Local
Route 11 Monroe Frequent/Local (11L and 11S)
Route 12 South Clinton Local
Route 13 South Avenue Local
Route 14 Marketplace Local
Route 15 Plymouth Local
Route 16 Genesee Frequent
Route 17 Jefferson/19th Ward Local
Route 18 Chili Local
Route 19 Buffalo Road Local
Route 20 Lyell Local
Route 21 Dewey Frequent/Local (21L and 21S)
Route 22 Lake Frequent/Local (22L and 22S)
Route 23 West Ave/Airport Local
Route 40 Ridge Crosstown
Route 41 Culver/Goodman Crosstown
Route 42 Lyell/Upper Falls Crosstown (currently suspended)
Route 50 Fairport/Penfield Suburban
Route 70 Seabreeze Seasonal
Route 71 Public Market Special
Commuter Routes: 91 Newark/Lyons; 92 Hilton/Hamlin; 97 Elmwood; and 98 Lexington

Neighborhood Direct Service offers specialized transportation to various schools through designated routes from:

School of the Arts Prince Street (Routes 270–289)
Edison Tech/All City HS Colfax Street (Routes 350–368)
Franklin Campus Norton Street (Routes 420–439)
Wilson Magnet Commencement High School Genesee Street (Routes 440–451)
Northeast Sr HS/Northwest Jr HS Fernwood Park (Routes 630–642)
Monroe HS Alexander Street (Routes 751–768)
Leadership Academy Lake Avenue (Routes 773–785)

RTS On Demand services operate within zones including Brockport, Greece, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Lexington, Pittsford/Eastview, and Webster.

Routes Beyond Monroe County

Route 201 Albion (RTS Orleans)
Route 202 Medina (RTS Orleans)
Route 203 Batavia (RTS Orleans)
Route 204 Brockport (RTS Orleans)
Route 205 Albion/Medina (RTS Orleans)
Route 211 City of Batavia (RTS Genesee)
Route 214 Batavia/LeRoy (RTS Genesee)
Route 220 Arcade Shopper Shuttle
Route 221 Village of Warsaw (RTS Wyoming)
Route 222 Warsaw/Batavia (RTS Wyoming)
Route 223 Arcade Commuter (RTS Wyoming)
Route 224 Warsaw to Arcade (RTS Wyoming)
Route 225 Service to SASI (RTS Wyoming)
Route 226 Silver Springs/Castile/Pike (RTS Wyoming)
Route 227 Perry (RTS Wyoming)
Route 228 Wyoming County (RTS Wyoming)
Route 229 Attica (RTS Wyoming)
Routes 231 & 232 (RTS Livingston)
Routes 242 & 243 East Livingston County via Mt. Morris (RTS Livingston)
Route 250 Canandaigua North (RTS Ontario)
Route 252 Canandaigua South (RTS Ontario)
Route 253 Canandaigua – Eastview Mall (RTS Ontario)
Route 255 Canandaigua – Geneva (Rts. 21 & 96) (RTS Ontario)
Route 261 Geneva (RTS Ontario)
Routes 281 & 282 Seneca Falls/Waterloo/Geneva (RTS Seneca)
Route 290 Lyons to Canandaigua (jointly operated by RTS Ontario and RTS Wayne)
Route 293 Canandaigua to Lyons (jointly operated by RTS Ontario and RTS Wayne)
Route 296 Lyons to Geneva (jointly operated by RTS Ontario and RTS Wayne)
Routes 302-307 Wayne County services (RTS Wayne)
Routes 307B & 308 Lyons to Webster connection (RTS Wayne)
Route 331 Shuttle for route 31 service (RTS Wayne)
Pilot Routes 332 & 333 in Wayne County area (RTS Wayne)

Previous Routes in Monroe County

Various routes were reorganized or eliminated to enhance operational efficiency:

On November 28, 2014, routes including Park Ave/Lake Ave, Thurston Rd/Parsells Ave, Goodman/Lyell Ave, Hudson Ave/Genesee St, South Ave/St. Paul Blvd, Jefferson Ave/Clifford Ave, Monroe Ave/Clinton, Chili/Strong/East Main, Jay/Maple/Bay/Webster, Portland/Dewey Ave, and South Clinton/Goodman/Joseph Avenue were divided into more specialized segments.
In May 2015, Route 2 Thurston Rd merged with Route 12 to create Route 25 Thurston/MCC; additionally, routes serving Webster/Xerox were unified under Route 103 Webster in November 2014.
Between 2006 and 2007, several University of Rochester routes were phased out.
Shuttle services tailored to specific needs such as the Rochester Works Shuttle, Henrietta Loop, Unity, and multiple RIT campus routes were discontinued between 2004 and 2010.
Temporary seasonal and event-based routes like Concerts by the Shore and Wegmans Rochester LPGA operated only during summer periods.
Other eliminated services included the Buffalo Bills Sports Shuttle, SU Orangemen Sports Shuttle, Geneseo, and Nazareth College routes by early 2008.

These adjustments represent deliberate strategic modifications aimed at improving service delivery and adapting to evolving transit demands.

Before May 17, 2021

Route 1 Lake was replaced by Route 22 Lake or RTS On Demand Greece
Route 3G (Park Ridge/Greece Ridge) and 3W (Walmart) Lyell were succeeded by Route 20 Lyell or 42 Lyell/Upper Falls Crosstown
Route 4 Genesee transitioned to Route 16 Genesee
Route 6 Jefferson was substituted with Route 17 Jefferson/19th Ward
Route 8 Chili became Route 18 Chili
Routes 9J/9M Jay/Maple were replaced by Route 19 Buffalo Road or RTS On Demand Lexington
Route 10 Dewey was succeeded by Route 21 Dewey or RTS On Demand Lexington
Route 13 Edison transitioned to RTS On Demand Lexington
Route 14 Ridge Road was replaced by Route 40 Ridge Crosstown or RTS On Demand Greece
Route 15 Latta was succeeded by Route 21 Dewey, Route 22 Lake, or RTS On Demand Greece
Route 16 Crosstown became RTS On Demand Lexington
Route 19 S. Plymouth Ave was replaced with Route 15 Plymouth
Route 23 Jefferson Road transitioned to Routes 14 Marketplace, 41 Culver/Goodman Crosstown, or RTS On Demand Henrietta
Route 24 Marketplace Mall/RIT was succeeded by Route 14 Marketplace or RTS On Demand Henrietta
Route 25 Thurston was replaced by Route 17 Jefferson/19th Ward
Route 28 Genesee Park Blvd./Strong transitioned to Routes 17 Jefferson/19th Ward or 18 Chili
Route 31 Park became Route 10 Park or RTS On Demand Pittsford/Eastview
Route 33 N. Goodman was replaced by Route 6 North Goodman or RTS On Demand Irondequoit
Route 34 Hudson transitioned to Route 4 Hudson or RTS On Demand Irondequoit
Route 35 St. Paul was succeeded by Route 1 St. Paul or RTS On Demand Irondequoit
Routes for Clifford (36) changed to Routes 7 Clifford/Empire or 41 Culver/Goodman Crosstown
Route 37 N. Clinton became Route 2 North Clinton
Route 38 East Main was replaced with Route 8 East Main
Routes for Bay/Webster (39) transitioned to Route 41 Culver/Goodman Crosstown
Route 40 Portland was succeeded by Routes 5 Portland, seasonal route70 Seabreeze, or RTS On Demand Irondequoit
Route41 Joseph became Route3 Joseph
Parsells (42) was replaced by Route41 Culver/Goodman Crosstown
South (45) transitioned to Route13 South
Monroe (47) changed to either Route11 Monroe or RTS On Demand Pittsford/Eastview
University (48) routes were replaced with Routes9 University or97 Elmwood Commuter
South Clinton (51) became Route12 South Clinton
S. Goodman St (53) transitioned to Routes12 South Clinton or41 Culver/Goodman Crosstown
MCC Brighton (55) was succeeded byRoute13 South
East (57) routes were replaced with Routes9 University,10 Park,11 Monroe or RTS On Demand Pittsford/Eastview
Fairport (81) and Penfield (82) merged intoRoute50 Fairport/Penfield
Calkins Rd (83) and Perinton/Bushnell's Basin/Eastview Mall (84) transitioned to RTS On Demand Henrietta or Pittsford Eastview/Route95 Eastview Commuter respectively
Avon/Rush Park & Ride (101) and Newark/Lyons (102) were replaced byRoutes90 Avon/Rush Commuter and91 Newark/Lyons Commuter respectively
Webster (103) and Brockport (104) routes changed toRoutes7 Clifford/Empire,93 Webster Commuter,94 Brockport Commuter or RTS On Demand Webster/Brockport
Hilton/Hamlin/Clarkson (106) becameRoute92 Hilton/Hamlin Commuter
Marketplace Mall ROC-it (124), Hudson ROC-it (134), South ROC-it (145), Dewey ROC-it (150), Lyell ROC-it (163) were replaced byRoutes14 Marketplace,4 Hudson,13 South,21 Dewey,and20 Lyell or42 Lyell/Upper Falls Crosstown respectively
Neighborhood Direct Service Humboldt Street routes650–657 were discontinued
Tiger East End Express (TE3) service ended
RIT Park Avenue Friday Nights service ceased

Additional Subsidiaries

RTS Genesee (previously Batavia Bus Service) provides local transit within Batavia, commuter connections to Le Roy, and weekly dial-a-ride options for smaller communities in Wyoming County. It stands as the longest-established among the smaller RGRTA subsidiaries.
RTS Livingston (formerly Livingston Area Transit Service) operates throughout Livingston County with routes linking Geneseo and Rochester, including specialized transit for SUNY Geneseo students. One route connects with RTS Wayne at Perry.
RTS Wayne (formerly Wayne Area Transit Service) serves Wayne County through loop routes centered around Lyons and Sodus, having become part of RGRTA in 1980. During peak commuting times, a shuttle facilitates transfers to RTS buses in Lyons.
RTS Wyoming (previously Wyoming Transit Service) manages three loop routes connecting towns to Warsaw, incorporating weekday local service within the village of Warsaw.
RTS Ontario (formerly County Area Transit Service) concentrates on transit services in Canandaigua and Geneva within Ontario County.
RTS Orleans (formerly Orleans Transit Service) operates in Albion and Medina, Orleans County, with a route linking to RTS Genesee in Batavia and special transit provisions for SUNY Brockport students.
RTS Seneca (previously Seneca Transit Service) covers Geneva, Seneca Falls, and Waterloo in Seneca County, with less frequent trips extending southward to Interlaken and Lodi.
RTS Access (formerly Lift Line) delivers paratransit services within three-quarters of a mile radius from fixed RTS routes.
RGRTA Maritime Development Corporation
Genesee Transportation Service Council Staff, Inc.

On August 19, 2014, RGRTA unified all county transit lines under the RTS brand followed by the respective county name. This rebranding effort standardized the identity across subsidiaries with gradual updates to vehicles and staff attire.

Facilities

In 2014, a new $50 million RTS transit center spanning 87,000 square feet was inaugurated in downtown Rochester, replacing the former Midtown Plaza bus terminal. The facility includes 30 bays capable of handling up to 100 buses per hour, significantly improving operational efficiency and rider experience.

External links

References and Notes

AThis ridership statistic accounts solely for RTS Monroe County and excludes other subsidiaries such as RTS Access.