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Thanks for that clarification ckhthankgod, though I still have to wonder how they come to that conclusion. By the number of complaints & compliments each transit authority receives? I doubt many riders are reaching out to the APTA with feedback, pro or con. I think it's human nature that most consumers stay silent either way and only a small segment speak up. Just a thought.
That could be or is even the case in some instances.
If you look in the original post, the original source is posted. So, you can view how they came to that conclusion.
That could be or is even the case in some instances.
If you look in the original post, the original source is posted. So, you can view how they came to that conclusion.
Later perhaps. After three tries on both links and being repeatedly diverted to different pics and/or pop ups...I decided it wasn't worth the trouble to find out. Just tried again with the same result. Meh.
[SIZE=5][SIZE=5]Capital District Transportation Authority [/SIZE] [SIZE=5][/SIZE] [SIZE=5][/SIZE] [SIZE=5][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=4][SIZE=4][SIZE=4]Albany, NY [/SIZE]
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[/SIZE][SIZE=7][SIZE=7][SIZE=7][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=7][SIZE=7][SIZE=7]T[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]he Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) is changing the way people think about public transit in New York’s Capital Region and its role in supporting economic development. CDTA serves four major cities, spanning 2,300 square miles with local, express, commuter, and bus rapid transit services. A new bike-share program, regulatory oversight of regional taxicab service, and ownership of two regional train stations round out CDTA’s regional mobility profile. [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]The CDTA Board of Directors developed an Innovation Platform that has improved the service network, reduced operating costs, and sharpened CDTA’s community image. The results have been outstanding with CDTA ridership increasing by 25 percent over the past six years, setting an all-time record in the process. The hallmarks of the plan include innovative projects like Upstate New York’s first Bus Rapid Transit service, the successful Universal Access rider program, and community engagement. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]On the street, CDTA has increased riders per revenue hour by more than 10 percent, while also increasing system wide on-time performance by 10 percent. A CDTA team created an online accident tracking system that captures 100 percent of reports electronically within 24 hours. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]In the garage, CDTA is of the few U.S. transit systems that engages a consultant for an independent audit of its Preventive Maintenance Inspection program. The agency has returned a perfect score of 100 percent in six consecutive years. The CDTA maintenance team has extended the life of older buses (12+ years) by four to six years through replacement of transmissions and rear end assemblies at a cost of less than $50,000 per vehicle. [/SIZE]
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[/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]The [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]Navigator [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]smartcard and mobile ticket program offers easier purchasing, account management, better security, and incentives. [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]Navigator [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]has added balance protection, auto-load capability, and easy online ordering for customers. CDTA has expanded its retail sales network and customers have a rewards program with the area’s largest supermarket, along with a variety of retail partners covering the financial, hospitality and service industries. [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Making the system easier to use for customers is the biggest change CDTA has made. The Universal Access program allows area businesses, schools, and universities to provide unlimited access to CDTA’s route network. The agency works with 20 partners from the education, health, and service industries that account for more than four million trips annually. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]CDTA’s largest charitable effort is with the United Way of the Greater Capital Region, with employee donations reaching nearly $90,000. CDTA assists communities during emergencies and severe weather by providing vehicles for cooling or heating to support law enforcement, displaced residents and firefighters. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]All of this is possible thanks to outstanding financial practices, strong and effective advocacy for improving transit services, enhanced partnerships that increase ridership and revenue, and consistent community outreach that is at the core of CDTA’s operation and the focus of the board. [/SIZE]
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From the first page of the write for CDTA...
[SIZE=6][SIZE=6]"[/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=3]Congratulations to the Capital District Transportation Authority for receiving the 2017 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award. The Capital Region’s economy depends on a robust, reliable, and modern transportation network. This recognition is well deserved and an important reminder; we need to continue to invest in our transit services and crumbling infrastructure if we want our economy to thrive and stay strong.[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=6][SIZE=6]" [/SIZE][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]— Senator Charles Schumer New York [/SIZE]
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CAPITAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
“CDTA’s success in serving the Albany region would not be possible without the hard work and
commitment of our 690 employees, the vision of our progressive Board of Directors, and the support
of our customers and
community partners. Being named APTA’s Outstanding System of the Year is humbling and a great honor
and should be celebrated by all who have helped get us to this point.”
— Carm Basile, Chief Executive Officer
This is all from the second link. Sorry about the formatting, btw.
I doubt this award will have any impact at all on people moving here. The vast majority of people who live here and have professional jobs live in the suburbs, where they may not be served at all by CDTA. Yes, there are people, particularly younger people, who want to live in the more urban areas, but most folks with families want better school systems than the more urban areas offer. I know exactly three people who use CDTA to get to work, and one of them just caved in and bought a car instead.
It is nice that CDTA has improved service over the years and I hope they continue to do so.
I just saw a billboard along I-90 stating that about CDTA and I immediately thought that declaration was/is highly subjective and an advertising ploy of the bus company. CDTA could be a great transit system if they policed or did not tolerate unacceptable behavior from some of their riders. The Bus Plus routes are better because there isn't so much stop and go. I recently gave it a fair shot, riding for a solid week in order to determine if leaving my car at a park n ride was worth it. The main corridor of Central Ave / State St. gets the brunt of the bad behavior, as do some of the routes along Washington Ave. It's unfair in many respects, because it only takes a few bad apples to cement a bad reputation. My friend rode the bus from the Schenectady/Colonie line into downtown Albany for 13 years and for the most part, rode without incident. But for the times that were memorable for the wrong reasons, it was enough to taint the entire experience. Examples - admittedly some were isolated, but others were not - included youth acting in a gang mentality and intimidating passengers, laughing about it, while the driver did nothing. In fairness, short of calling police and pulling over, what can he/she really do? Waiting for a bus only to be passed by because the bus is full; a bus repeatedly off schedule. A drug deal going down in plain sight, again nothing done because of fear. Waiting inside the covered shelter and moving to the elements because the inside of the shelter is disgustingly filthy. One time a female waiting for the bus appeared to be a hooker, and decided (at 7am, when her shift apparently ended), that she had to pee, but didn't want to miss the bus, so she walked behind the shelter and took a squat in full view of everyone else waiting. Drug use (not just smoking pot, which would probably be ignored) going on & then leaving the needles behind - that one was filmed & made it on the news.
My trial week was tamer - mostly schedule/crowded issues - but I decided to find another way to curb the budget.
This is why I do not ride CDTA - I was threatened before and made to feel unsafe by unruly passengers, not once but several times. If you accidentally bump against someone (often times because the bus is overcrowded and there are no seats), they want to start a fight with you and curse you out. One time I was just standing in the aisle next to this tough looking puerto rican guy's seat, wearing my backpack full of books (I was attending college at the time) and he tapped me on the arm and shouted "Get your bag out of my face." Many of the people on the bus drink (they hide their beer cans in black plastic baggies), curse loudly and act scary. There are the loud mouth welfare mamas with their baby strollers that take up the whole aisle and block you in, obnoxious blacks/puerto ricans who will pick a fight with you just for looking at them or standing to close to them, people who smell bad, etc. The Rt. 5 coridor on State St/Central Ave is the worst bus ride with the ghetto trash (one time a lady threatened people with a knife on the bus) where on several occasions I witnessed fist fights between passengers where the bus had to be pulled over and the police had to be called. One time a guy and a girl got in a fight and the guy exited the bus, then kicked in the bus door so hard that it caused the glass to shatter, before taking off. After calling the police, the bus driver stupidly left the door open, allowing the girl (who remained on the bus still) to take off before the police arrived. Not to mention there are alot of unpleasant conversations, like one guy was talking about he took joy in killing a songbird on his porch or another guy bragged about how he resisted arrest and fought with the police, dislocating one of the officer's jaws.
Actually, believe it or not, one of the bad bus routes is the Rt. 50 bus between Schenectady and Saratoga. The Route 50 bus used to be a pleasant ride but declined to the level of any Rt. 5 bus (#355, #905, old #55) with all those types of bad passengers. Many of them come from Albany and take the #905 from Albany, then take the #50 up to Saratoga. In fact the Route 50 bus has become a drug line between Schenectady and Saratoga and there was a news story before where a Saratoga woman died of a heroine overdose supplied by a man she met on the #50 bus and traveled to Schenectady to get the drugs. He was charged and the bus camera was used as evidence.
So for these reasons I avoid all the CDTA buses and bought a cheap used car just so I don't have to ride the bus. The only CDTA bus ride that is pleasant is the NX service, coach seating with bathrooms and mostly state workers and busy professionals.
Last edited by Mr. Pineapple; 04-27-2018 at 10:39 AM..
This is why I do not ride CDTA. I was threatened before. If you accidentally bump against someone, often times because the bus is overcrowded and there are no seats, they want to start a fight with you and curse you out. Many of the people on the bus drink (they hide their beer cans in black plastic baggies), curse loudly and act scary. The Rt. 5 coridor on State St/Central Ave is the worst bus ride with these unruly passengers (one time a lady threatened people with a knife on the bus), other times the bus had to be pulled over and the police had to be called.
Actually, believe it or not, one of the bad bus routes is the Rt. 50 bus between Schenectady and Saratoga. The Route 50 bus used to be a pleasant ride but declined to the level of any Rt. 5 bus (#355, #905, old #55) with all those types of bad passengers. Many of them come from Albany and take the #905 from Albany, then take the #50 up to Saratoga.
So for these reasons I avoid all the CDTA buses. The only CDTA bus ride that is pleasant is the NX service, coach seating with bathrooms and mostly state workers and busy professionals.
If you do not count the NX service, there is no bus route from Albany to Saratoga.
The only way is to take the #905 to Schenectady, then the #50 to Saratoga.
If you do not count the NX service, there is no bus route from Albany to Saratoga.
The only way is to take the #905 to Schenectady, then the #50 to Saratoga.
Interesting and I’m surprised that a route hasn’t been added.
Also, I wonder if CDTA could cover the Amsterdam area? I’ve seen where they are about to lose their public bus system soon.
Interesting and I’m surprised that a route hasn’t been added.
Also, I wonder if CDTA could cover the Amsterdam area? I’ve seen where they are about to lose their public bus system soon.
In addition to all the ghetto scum passengers, CDTA runs things backwards.
If you wanted to add service from Albany to Saratoga, the best bet would be along Rt. 9 between Latham Farms and Saratoga, seeing that there is already bus service between Latham Farms and Albany.
A few years ago, CDTA actually ran a pilot bus route along Rt. 9 (Route #409) from Saratoga down to Clifton Park, but got discontinued due to no riders. Many passengers and drivers pressured CDTA to extend the #409 further south to Latham Farms to connect with Routes #370 (Troy/Schenectady), #190 (Latham/Crossgates) and #182 (Albany/Latham/Cohoes). However, CDTA declined to do so with the lame excuse that extending the #409 any further would make the bus ride over one hour long and studies show that all bus routes over one hour long are not successful. This is not true, the old #55 bus was well over one hour long and the busiest route. Also, the #50 bus is 80 minutes long one way between Schenectady and Wilton Mall and one of CDTA's greatest successes. Still CDTA did not want to hear it and cancelled Route #409 service. If the #409 has been extended down to Latham Farms, it probably would have been just as successful as the #50 bus.
Regarding service to Amsterdam, I am pretty sure that CDTA only covers four counties (Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady). Amsterdam is Montgomery County so it is out of CDTA range. The same goes for Glens Falls which is an ideal city for CDTA to expand to, but is also out of the four county range.
In addition, both Amsterdam and Glens Falls already have their own existing bus service (Glens Falls has GGFT which runs service out to Hudson Falls, Fort Edward, Queensbury and Lake George with a summer trolley that running as far north as Bolton Landing). The only way CDTA could run service to these cities would be to either buy out their bus companies (their bus companies are tiny compared to CDTA, so that would be easy) or agree to just run one bus route into their city to link with their city bus service (i.e. a bus route from Schenectady to Amsterdam or from Saratoga to Glens Falls), thus not interfering or competing with their existing bus system, just bringing passengers into their city from the areas covered by CDTA.
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