CAPITAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

The 'Capital District Transportation Authority' (CDTA) is a public benefit organization which provides transportation services to the Capital District of New York State (Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties). CDTA was formed in August in 1970 by a state act of government which also formed three similar agencies in Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo; CDTA took over the area's four private operators between 1971 and 1972. The function of CDTA is to operate public transportation as well as to operate two Amtrak stations in the service area (Albany-Rennselaer and Saratoga Springs). CDTA bus operators, dispatchers, and supervisory staff are organized in Local 1394 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU).

Contents

Fixed route services

Albany Division

Schenectady Division

Saratoga Service

Troy Division

Other Services

Shuttles

Saratoga "Trolley"

STAR Service

NX: Northway Xpress

Fleet

Active Fleet

Future Fleet

Retired Fleet

Transit Development Plan

References

External links

Fixed route services

CDTA operates 60 different routes, many of which connect neighborhoods to downtowns or downtowns to shopping areas with six routes linking key towns together. Two routes, 11-SUNY Shuttle and 86-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.).

Albany Division

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'' adjacent to CDTA's headquarters on 110 Watervliet Avenue in Albany.

★ '1' Central Avenue ★ '2' West Albany ★ '3' Quail Street Belt ★ '4' Pine Hills ★ '5' Northern Boulevard ★ '6' Second Avenue ★ '7' Glenmont ★ '8' Arbor Hill ★ '9' Whitehall Road ★ '10' Western Avenue ★ '11' UAlbany Shuttle ★ '12' Washington Avenue ★ '13' New Scotland Avenue ★ '14' Rensselaer Third Street/Amtrak ★ '15' Rensselaer First Street

★ '16' Downtown Albany Circulator ★ '18' Delaware Avenue ★ '19' Vorheesville ★ '21X' Altamont ★ '22' Albany-Troy via Watervliet ★ '24' Albany-Troy via Rensselaer ★ '27' Corporate Woods ★ '29' Albany-Cohoes ★ '30' Hackett Blvd Belt ★ '31' Shaker Road ★ '32' Hampton ★ '33(X)' Nassau ★ '35X' Albany-Troy via I-787 ★ '95' Rural Service (Berne/Knox, Westerlo, Rensselaerville)

Albany Division also operates half of Routes 55 (with Schenectady Division) and 90 (with Troy Division) plus the ShuttleBug and Shuttle Fly.

Schenectady Division

{|
Before CDTA, many of these routes were run by Schenectady Transit (which itself was taken over in the late 1960s by Schenectady County after that company became insolvent). Buses run out of the ''Electric Depot'' on 2401 Maxon Road Extension in Schenectady. Only the 50, 55, and Saratoga routes run on Sundays.
{|
|valign=top|

★ '50' Route Fifty

★ '51' Broadway

★ '52' Crane Street

★ '53' Altamont Ave.

★ '54' Scotia/WalMart

★ '55(X)' Albany-Schenectady via Route 5

★ '56X' Schenectady-State Office Campus

★ '59' Nott Street
|valign=top|

★ '61' Van Vranken

★ '62' State Street-McClellan Sreet

★ '63' Albany-Schenectady via Route 20

★ '66' South Loop

★ '70' Troy-Schenectady

★ '77' North Loop

★ '78' South Loop

★ '95' Rural Service (Duanesberg/Delanson)
|}

Saratoga Service

Also run out of Schenectady Division are the Saratoga Springs services. These routes run seven days a week.

★ '50 - Route Fifty'

★ '471 - Union Avenue'

★ '472 - Lake Avenue'

★ '473 - Jefferson Street'

★ '875 - Saratoga Trolley' (no Monday service; summers only)

Troy Division

{|
Before CDTA, most of these routes were operated by the Troy-Fifth Avenue Bus Company. Routes 71 and 72 in Saratoga Springs (originally Routes 98 and 99) were the first routes CDTA created in 1974. Buses run out of the ''Uncle Sam Depot'' at 40 Hoosick Street in Troy.
{|
|valign=top|

★ '80' Albia-Fifth Avenue

★ '82' Troy-Cohoes-Green Island

★ '84' Watervliet Belt

★ '85' Waterford-Troy

★ '86' RPI Shuttle

★ '87' Sycaway/Beman Park

★ '89' Griswold Heights

★ '90' Troy/Latham/Crossgates Mall

★ '96' Rensselaer County Rural (Hoosick Falls-Troy)
|}
Troy Division also operates parts of Routes 22, 24, and 29 with Albany Division and Route 70 with Schenectady Division as well as the ShuttleBee (see below).
On the drawing board is the purchase of five more buses, some or all of which are hybrid^[1], and the possible expansion of routes to areas currently not served by CDTA.

Other Services

Shuttles

{|
CDTA also operates three suburban shuttles, all using smaller "cutaway" vehicles and providing services to offices and major points of interest not on main CDTA routes.
{|
|valign=top|

★ 'ShuttleBee' Route 4 from East Greenbush to Hudson Valley Community College--operated by CDTA Troy Division

★ 'ShuttleBug' Washington Ave. Extension/Route 155 to Route 5 and Route 20--operated by Upstate Transit, to be transferred to CDTA Albany Division by April 1, 2008

★ 'ShuttleFly' Wolf Road to Albany International Airport and Route 7--operated by CDTA Albany Division
|}

Saratoga "Trolley"

In cooperation with the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, CDTA operates an open-air trolley service 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.

STAR Service

{|
In 1981, CDTA began providing paratransit services to riders who are medically unable to take regular transit services. This service was supplemented with the addition of wheelchair-accessible buses 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).

NX: Northway Xpress

The 'NX: Northway Xpress' is a group of express routes that link Albany to towns in Saratoga County which is operated under contract to Upstate Transit (which had owned the service until 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.

Fleet

Active Fleet

All buses are wheelchair accessible.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Builder
!Model
!Length (ft)
!Width (in)
!Seating
!Numbers
!Operators
|-
|1991
|MCI
|102AW3
|40
|102
|suburban
|311
|Upstate Transit
|-
|1996
|MCI
|102DW3SS
|40
|102
|suburban
|312-315
|Upstate Transit
|-
|1996-1997
|Orion
|06.501
|40
|102
|Transit
|2000-2020
|CDTA Albany
|-
|1998
|Orion
|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
|NABI
|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
|MCI
|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
|AeroElite
|25
|96
|transit
|403-408
|CDTA Albany, Schenectady
|-
|2006
|MCI
|D4500CL
|45
|102
|suburban
|320-324
|Upstate Transit
|-
|2007
|Gillig
|Low Floor T-40
|40
|102
|transit
|4000-4007
|CDTA Albany
|-
|2007
|Gillig
|Low Floor T-40 BRT hybrid
|41
|102
|transit
|4008H-4013H
|CDTA Albany, Schenectady
|-
|2007
|Gillig
|Low Floor T-30
|30
|102
|transit
|3100-3107
|CDTA Schenectady
|-
|2007
|Supreme
|Senator
|25
|96
|paratransit
|220-229
|CDTA Albany, Schenectady, Troy
|}

Future Fleet

★ 2008 Gillig Hybrid ('22 buses', sizes and styles unknown, 40' models to start with '4014H')

★ 2008 MCI D4500CL (replacement for 102AW3 311, probably to be numbered '325')
The Gillig buses are the second in a five-year deal between CDTA and Gillig.^[2] and will replace most of the 1996 Orion VI fleet.

Retired Fleet

Upon CDTA's various takeovers, a mix of General Motors of both the "Old Look" and "New Look" varieties were inherited, most of these buses were retired by the 1980s with the last leaving service in 1991. From 1970 through 1996, CDTA used other omnibus vehicle models manufactured by Flxible, AM General, GMC, Orion, Crown Ikarus (286 articulated bus and regular models), and Coach and Equipment ''Condor'' (25' cab on chassis bus). Its 'Upstate Transit' division purchased c. 1991 some MCI models.

Transit Development Plan

In 2005, CDTA commissioned a transit development plan in order to better fit the agency's services, much of which unchanged from its predecessors. Parts of this plan include the following:

★ Replacing 1/12th of the CDTA fleet on a yearly basis rather than buying large orders at once, a move implemented starting in 2007 which will reduce the costs of maintaining an aging fleet.^[3]

★ The replacement of all Orion VI buses by 2012 and of the NABI and NovaBus LFS buses by 2016 as well as the midlife overhaul of the NovaBus and NABI fleets (which have included the installation of LED destination signs).

★ The expansion of service in Saratoga Springs, which took place in July 2007, plus further expansion into Saratoga County including the building of a garage in Saratoga Springs.

★ Redrawing bus routes system wide to better serve ridership, starting with Schenectady-based routes in the second half of 2007.

★ The implementation of a new three-digit route system in which the first digit will serve as an indication of its base; this system is already in place in Saratoga Springs.

★ The planning of Bus Rapid Transit on the busy Route 5 corridor, in turn supplementing the current 55 bus (which is responsible for 20% of CDTA's ridership). Such a plan would also lead to a refocusing of the current routes 1 and 2 and potentially the current ShuttleFly (which would be extended to serve SUNY Albany and Crossgates Mall). Such a system could lead to the purchase of articulated buses for this line as well as for possibly CDTA's other busy routes. As of mid-2007, this part of the plan was placed on hold.

References

1. CDTA bus service to grow in Saratoga style
2. CDTA board approves .3M bus deal
3. CDTA budget aims to revitalize fleet

External links

★ CDTA Website

★ CDTA Roster (as of 2004)