CDTA Gillig Low Floor BRT hybrid in iRide branding. |
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Slogan | iRide |
Founded | 1970 (previously United Traction Company in 1890) |
Headquarters | 110 Watervliet Avenue Albany, NY 12206 |
Locale | Capital District |
Service area | Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties |
Service type | Local Bus Service |
Routes | 59 [1] |
Stops | 3,135 [2] |
Fleet | 306 [2] |
Annual ridership | 15,407,000 (FY 2008–2009) [2] |
Fuel type | Diesel, Diesel-electric hybrid |
Operator | CDTA (all except Northway Express) Upstate Transit (Northway Express only) |
Chief executive | Carm Basile |
Web site | www.cdta.org |
The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) is a public benefit organization that provides transportation in the Capital District of New York State (Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties). CDTA runs buses and operates the Albany-Rensselaer and Saratoga Springs Amtrak stations.
In August 1970, a state act of government formed CDTA and three similar agencies in Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. In 1970, CDTA took over the United Traction Company, and Schenectady Transit.
CDTA bus operators, dispatchers, and supervisory staff are organized in Local 1321 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU).
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CDTA operates 56 routes, many of which connect neighborhoods to downtowns or downtowns to shopping areas; with six routes linking key towns together. Two routes, 11-UAlbany Shuttle and 286-RPI Shuttle, are shuttle services for area universities which are also open to the public. Service mostly runs from 5:30 a.m.-12:00 a.m. weeknights, 6:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m. Saturdays, and 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Sundays with the college routes running until 2:00 a.m. in Albany and Troy (with several RPI-only runs running until 4:00 a.m.).
Before CDTA, many of these routes belonged to the Albany-Nassau Bus Company (Routes 32/33) and United Traction. Buses run out of Capital Depot next to CDTA's headquarters on 110 Watervliet Avenue in Albany.
''Albany County Route Restructuring''[3] In early 2011 CDTA announced its plans to restructure bus routes in Albany county beginning with the city of Albany. It launched a public input campaign until August 2011. the results are 5 new neighborhood routes and 3 commuter routes. its goal is to have a more uniformed bus system without any route deviations. Every bus route in the city of Albany except routes 1 and 905 will be effected. the new routeing system goes into effect November 13, 2011'
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Albany Division also operates half of Route 90 (with Troy Division).
Before CDTA, many of these routes were run by Schenectady Transit, which became insolvent and was taken over by Schenectady County in the late 1960s. Buses operate from the Electric Depot located at 2401 Maxon Road Ext. in Schenectady.
Of the Schenectady routes, the 50 (Route 50) and 355 (Schenectady/Colonie) run on Sundays. Effective April 3, 2011 two additional Schenectady routes 354 Rotterdam Square Mall/Nott Street and 353 Scotia/Mont Pleasant began providing Sunday service. On May 24, 2010 CDTA implemented five new cross-town routes for Schenectady as a part of their new service plan, removing routes 51, 52, 53, 54, 59, 61, 62, 66,and 77 and combining them into routes 351, 352, 353, 354,and 358 (Route 358 has since been eliminated due to low ridership) This is a part of their new 3-digit route identification system. Routes 530, 531 & 532 are express services to Downtown Albany replacing the former 55x bus route and do not carry any local passengers.
Route | Terminals | Major streets | History | Notes | |
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63
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Washington Ave. & State St. | Hudson Ave. & Broadway | Madison Ave., Washington Ave., Rt. 20 | limited service, weekdays only. | |
70
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Washington Ave. & State St. | River St. & Front St. | NY 2 | ||
351
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Golub Corp. | Lancaster & Gerling | Broadway, Van Vranken Ave | ||
352
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Price Chopper | Lancaster & Gerling | McClellan St., Altamont Ave. | limited service, no Sunday service | |
353
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Walmart Glenville | Price Chopper Plaza - Altamont Ave | Mohawk Ave | ||
354
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Rotterdam Square Mall | Shoprite Square(Formally known as St. James Square) | I-890 | ||
355
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Washington Ave & State St. | Route 5 & Colonie Center | NY 5 | ||
530
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Rotterdam Square Mall Express | Hudson Ave & Broadway | I-90, I-890 | weekday express service only | |
531
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St. Luke’s Park & Ride Express | Hudson Ave & Broadway | I-787, I-90, I-890 | weekday express service only | |
532
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Woodlawn Park & Ride Express | Hudson Ave & Broadway | I-90 | weekday express service only |
The City of Saratoga Springs service also operates out of Schenectady Division. These routes run seven days a week.
Route | Terminals | Major streets | History | Notes | ||
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472
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Saratoga Springs train station | Wilton Mall | Lake Avenue | |||
473
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Saratoga Casino and Raceway | Skidmore College | Jefferson Street | |||
875
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Skidmore's Case Center | Saratoga Performing Arts Center | Rt. 9 | Seasonal (replaces parts of the former 471 Lake Ave. seasonal route) | ||
NX
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Albany – Rensselaer Train Station | Saratoga Train Station | Weekdays only does not run on major or state holidays |
In addition, Saratoga Springs is also served from Schenectady's Route 50 service.
On May 24, 2010, CDTA began testing a new route, numbered route 409, to serve NY 9 between Downtown Saratoga Springs and the town of Clifton Park. It is a pilot program that is federally funded. CDTA will operate the route for one year and will analyze the need for it, with a minimum ridership of 15 passengers per hour. CDTA announced that bus 409 will be discontinued on September 2, 2011 due to the failure to maintain the above ridership quota.
Before CDTA, most of these routes were operated by the Troy-Fifth Avenue Bus Company. Buses run out of the Uncle Sam Depot at 40 Hoosick Street in Troy which also used to run routes 471 and 472 (originally routes 98 and 99).
Route | Terminals | Major streets | History | Notes | |
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80
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River St. & Front St. | Northern Dr. & 8th St. | 5th Ave. | ||
82
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River St. & Front St. | Mohawk St. & School St. | NY 32 | no service on Sunday | |
85
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Broad St. & 6th St. | Van Rensselaer Manor | Rt. 4 | ||
87
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River St. & Front St. | Price Chopper & Walmart | Hoosick St. and 15th St. | ||
90
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Crossgates Mall | Sunset Terrace & Forsyth Dr. | I-87, NY 2, and Wolf Rd. | no service on Sunday | |
280
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River St. & Front St. | Vanderhyden Hall | Pawling Ave. | ||
286
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Sunset Terrace & Forsyth Dr. | Pawling Ave. & Myrtle Ave. | Pawling Ave., 15th St., Congress St. | Runs while RPI is in session | |
289
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Madison Ave & Project St | 15th St & Massachusetts Ave | Pawling Ave., 4th St., 15th St. | no service on Sunday | |
432
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River St. & Front St. | North Main Street | NY 32 and I-787 | Weekday service only. Continues on as 35X |
Troy Division also operates parts of Routes 22, 224, and 29 with Albany Division and Route 70 with Schenectady Division as well as Route 620
CDTA operates three suburban shuttles that use smaller "cutaway" vehicles and serve offices and major points of interest not on main CDTA routes.
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In cooperation with the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, CDTA operates open-air trolleys from June to September along Broadway from Skidmore College to Saratoga Performing Arts Center. While not marked as such on the vehicles, this service appears as Route 875 on the Saratoga Service map.
In 1982, CDTA began providing paratransit services to riders who are medically unable to take regular transit services. Wheelchair-accessible buses were added in 1988; since 2004, all CDTA routes have been handicapped-accessible. Star's fleet has had a variety of minibuses, for most of its history has been dominated by the Orion II low-floor minibus though with that model out-of-production STAR has replaced older models with Startrans "Senator" cutaway vehicles. Others in the fleet include Ford "ELF" minibuses and several transfers from suburban shuttle routes (see below).
The NX: Northway Xpress is a group of express routes that links Albany to towns in Saratoga County which is operated under contract to Upstate Transit (which had been contracted to run the service since 2006). These routes run from Saratoga Springs, Ballston Spa, and Clifton Park Mechanicville, and South Glens Falls to downtown Albany with a single roundtrip each day serving both the Wolf Road corridor and the Harriman State Office Campus and nearby buildings.
All buses are wheelchair accessible.
Year | Builder | Model | Length (feet) |
Width (inches) |
Seating | Numbers | Operators |
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1996 | Motor Coach Industries | 102DW3SS | 40 | 102 | Suburban | 313-315 | Upstate Transit |
1996–1997 | Orion Bus Industries | Orion VI 06.501 | 40 | 102 | Transit | 2000–2020 | CDTA Albany |
1998 | Orion Bus Industries | Orion VI 06.501 | 40 | 102 | Transit | 2021–2102 | CDTA Schenectady, Troy |
1999 | Nova Bus | LFS TL40-102 | 40 | 102 | Transit | 9901-9949 | CDTA Albany |
1999 | Nova Bus | LFS TL40-102 | 40 | 102 | Suburban | 9950-9959 | CDTA Albany |
1999 | North American Bus Industries | 35LFW | 35 | 102 | Transit | 9960-9984 | CDTA Albany |
2000–2003 | Coach & Equipment | Condor & Phoenix | 25 | 96 | Transit | various numbers in 100 series | CDTA Albany, Troy |
2000 | Nova Bus | LFS TL40-102 | 40 | 102 | Suburban | 3001-3011 | CDTA Albany |
2000 | Nova Bus | LFS TL40-102 | 40 | 102 | Transit | 3021-3030 | CDTA Albany |
2001 | Molly Trolley | N/A | 30 | 96 | Transit | various, high 800s | CDTA Troy |
2002 | Motor Coach Industries | D4000 | 40 | 102 | Suburban | 316-319 | Upstate Transit |
2004 | Coach & Equipment | Condor | 25 | 96 | Transit | 401-402 | CDTA Albany |
2005 | Supreme | Senator | 25 | 96 | Paratransit | 200-219 | CDTA Albany, Schenectady, Troy |
2006 | ElDorado National | AeroElite | 25 | 96 | Transit | 403-408 | CDTA Albany, Schenectady |
2006 | Motor Coach Industries | D4500CL | 45 | 102 | Suburban | 320-324 | Upstate Transit |
2007 | Gillig | Low Floor T-40 | 40 | 102 | Transit | 4000-4007 | CDTA Troy |
2007 | Gillig | Low Floor T-40 BRT Hybrid | 41 | 102 | Transit | 4008H-4013H | CDTA Albany, Schenectady |
2007 | Gillig | Low Floor T-29 | 30 | 102 | Transit | 3100-3107 | CDTA Schenectady |
2007 | Supreme | Senator | 25 | 96 | Paratransit | 220-229 | CDTA Albany, Schenectady, Troy |
2008 | ElDorado National | AeroElite | 25 | 96 | Transit | 409-415 | CDTA Albany |
2008 | Gillig | Low Floor T-40 Hybrid | 40 | 102 | Transit | 4014H-4035H | CDTA Albany |
2008 | Gillig | Low Floor T-40 Hybrid | 40 | 102 | Transit | 325H | CDTA Albany |
The Gillig buses are part of a five-year contract between CDTA and Gillig awarded in April 2006, and will replace most of the 1996 Orion VI fleet.[4]
Buses numbered up to at least 4072H are on the property and in service.
The CDTA increased fares on April 1, 2009, to close a $9 million budget gap.
Increases to the new fares were:
In 2005, CDTA commissioned a transit development plan.[5] Parts of this plan include:
The 2005 plan included the development of bus rapid transit on the busy Route 5 corridor, supplementing the route 55 bus (which handles 20% of CDTA's ridership). This plan also has led to modifications on routes 1 and 2. Articulated buses were planned for this and other busy routes. Queue jumping and signal priority were planned to make BRT more attractive to the region after light rail was rejected. As of mid-2007, this part of the 2005 plan was placed on hold.[5]
In early 2008, the CDTA announced that it was going forward with the bus rapid transit line on Route 5, which will include 18 upgraded stations.[7] Bus Plus service along NY Route 5 began Monday, April 4, 2011 with new silver and red BusPlus-branded Gillig 40-foot hybrid buses, and designated as route 905. Instead of supplementing route 55, this altered the route's Schenectady-side portion of route 55 into route 355, operating from Downtown Schenectady to the Colonie Center BusPlus Station. Route 1 still operates from Downtown Albany to Colonie Center BusPlus station with increased service hours. Alternatively, route 2 remained unchanged. BusPlus service runs the entire length of the Route 5 corridor, although it currently operates differently from the original plans. In the short term, transit signal priority and queue jump lanes are being constructed and will be rolled out in 2011 as features of the bus rapid transit service. Articulated buses and ticket vending machines (TVMs) have not been purchased. Although it is called bus rapid transit, the 905 line resembles an enhanced limited-stop service. Improvements and expansions to BusPlus are still in planning, with proposed lines along Washington and Western Avenues in Albany.