The passion of Buffalo Rising Online readers is something that never ceases to amaze me, and the platform the comment section gives our community is one that has certainly shown up on the radar of our civic leaders. For example after a whopping 59 comments were posted to Gabe’s article last week on Rethinking Metro Bus, NFTA Executive Director Lawrence Meckler took notice and gave us this response:
“I would like to respond to the recent article Rethinking Metro Bus: Connect Cityis Assets and Go Green submitted by Gabe and the comments the piece spawned regarding Metro bus and rail service.
I appreciate the interest the writers have in our system and the suggestions that were offered on how to improve the service to make it more user friendly. Please know that we do take very seriously our responsibility to provide reliable, cost effective public transit that meets the needs of our community.
To that point, staff will review the service related comments that were made in an effort to address the writersi comments.
NFTA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-
LAWRENCE MECKLER
I would like to mention that in an effort to improve Metrois effectiveness, we consistently do modify our service based on suggestions from riders, event planners, employers, developers, and our own observations relating to potential new service destinations.
Some examples of changes/improvements would be:
Route 44 Lockport – we have increased the amount of service by 19 percent over past two years to provide access to new job opportunities at Weinberg Campus, Bank of America, ICT and Geico, along with several other businesses in the Audubon Office Park and Crosspoint Business Park.
Route 24 Genesee – extended trips to serve relocated Social Security office on Exchange St. and the redevelopment of the Larkin Bldg.
Route 204 Airport/Downtown Express – initiated new service from a new park & ride lot near BNIA for downtown commuters and reverse commute service for city residents to job opportunities at or near BNIA.
Route 6 Sycamore & Route 34 Niagara Falls Blvd. – increased service and extended trips to serve two major retail areas, Galleria/Thruway/Union Rd/ and Boulevard Mall/Niagara Falls Blvd, as well as job opportunities at new business parks on Walden Avenue and a nursing home/rehab center in Lancaster.
Gabe mentions in his piece i. . . How about a bus that goes where people want to go? How does a link between Buffalois most attractive cultural and neighborhoods sound?i Metrois current ad campaign promotes exactly that concept. For the last three months there has been a large billboard at the end of the outbound Kensington Expressway titled Destinations Buffalo Niagara that features pictures of the Lockport Locks, Buffalo Zoo, Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens, Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Niagara Falls, all of which can be reached by Metro service. This theme has been repeated along Metro Rail, in recent television spots, and in a Destinations Buffalo Niagara brochure (see attached pdf) that lists many more iquality of lifei destinations that can be reached by way of Metro service. Further, some months ago we offered the areais cultural agencies the opportunity to advertise on the outside of our Metro buses. Hopefully some will take us up on the offer.
In an effort to set the record straight regarding a few comments that were made please know that:
As of July 1 passengers can purchase a Day or Weekend pass from the bus operator when they board a Metro bus. The passes are also available from nine blue ticket-dispensing machines that are located in Metro Rail stations and the Buffalo and Niagara Falls transit centers. The cost of a day pass is $3.50 and a weekend pass is $6. The day pass is becoming very popular with riders as 6,726 were sold during the month of June.
On July 24, as part of Metrois Go Green initiative we rolled out our first hybrid electric buses. (See accompanying picture.) Metro is the second transit agency in New York State to use hybrid buses. Between now and February 2007, we are scheduled to receive a total of 43 hybrids. These buses will replace an equal number of the oldest conventional diesel fueled buses now operating in a fleet of 330. The hybrids will be assigned to routes throughout Metrois service area in Erie and Niagara counties.
Hybrids are environmentally friendly. The two-mode hybrid system produces 90 percent less hydrocarbon, 90 percent less carbon monoxide emissions, 50 percent less nitrogen oxides than conventional diesel buses, and lowers particulate emissions (tiny pieces of soot and dust) by up to 90 percent.
The hybrid purchase demonstrates the NFTAis willingness to explore every possible alternative for cost-effective, clean-air transportation. By adding cutting-edge hybrid bus technology to our current fleet, we are not only being socially responsible by reducing air pollution, we are lowering our operating costs based on improved fuel consumption and a decrease in maintenance costs.
Presently Canisius, Buffalo State, Medaille and Bryant Stratton participate in our College/University Unlimited Access program. All of the undergraduate students at these schools receive unlimited use of the entire Metro system for the academic year at a cost of $25 per semester. As a measure of value, the cost of ionei monthly All Zone Metro pass is $66. In addition, during the school year, Metro provides students at these schools with direct service to the cityis entertainment district every Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Bike racks made their debut on Metro busses in May 2004, when 22 buses were added to our fleet. Since that time, 80 additional new busses have arrived, all with bike racks, which is the case with each new bus. Metro now has 102 buses with racks, almost one-third of the fleet. Each rack can carry up to two bikes.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to respond and rest assured that we will continue working to make Metro a transit system that we all can be proud of.”
In other NFTA News as first reported by Buffalo Rising, space is still available for Non Profit Cultural Organizations to market themselves on a “Huge” scale, with bus wraps for 2 year periods. The cost of production is the only thing you have to cover. For more information on this high profile opportunity call Daryl Rusuli manager of communications at 855-7218 or by email at daryl_rusuli@nfta.com.