TransportationFriday, November 6
RTS will phase out its On Demand service in Monroe County, starting Jan. 22 in four zones
The Rochester Morning News team
If you ride RTS On Demand, mark these dates. Regional Transit Service announced Wednesday it will end the service within five months. RTS says On Demand takes 14% of its budget while RTS faces a $30 million deficit. CEO Miguel Velázquez called it "a very difficult decision to make."
Riders are feeling it. Pedro Caquias, who broke his leg in a June crash, says Uber to his 5 a.m. job would be $100 a day. Bryan O'Malley of the Center for Disability Rights said "the alternatives are few and far between." RTS says new commuter routes will serve the Lexington Avenue/Lee Road area and Greece.
- Cost: reportedly 6.5 times more per customer than regular bus routes
- Route 97 Elmwood Commuter: extended in Henrietta
- Route 50 Fairport/Penfield: starts and ends at RTS Transit Center
- Greece: ADA service area expands, with details before April
On Demand zones will go dark in two rounds
- End 2026RTS will end the Route 91 Newark/Lyons commuter route in Wayne County at the end of 2026.
- Jan. 22On Demand will end in the Brockport, Irondequoit, Pittsford and Webster zones.
- April 2On Demand will end in the Greece, Henrietta and Lexington Avenue zones.
- April 5Fixed-route service will replace On Demand in Greece, Henrietta and Lexington Avenue.
Sources: 13WHAM-TV, RochesterFirst
Sources: WHEC.com, 13WHAM-TV, RochesterFirst