Last week, this website published a proposal for a new transit service connecting Ithaca, Cortland, and Syracuse. Anyone familiar with the recent history of transit in Syracuse will recognize parts of this proposal from OnTrack, the rail line that ran from the Destiny Mall to Syracuse University during the nineties and thousands. OnTrack was a debacle, poorly planned and poorly implemented, but it was also an encouraging act of faith in the power of transit to improve life in Syracuse. This proposal attempts to learn the lessons of OnTrack in order to avoid its failures while still capitalizing on the potential that made it attractive in the first place.

That potential is the New York, Susquehanna, & Western right-of-way. It’s an elevated rail line that runs through Downtown on its way from Syracuse University past Destiny Mall to the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center. At first glance, it looks like a great way to get heavy rail transit for almost no money. Just start running trains on what’s already there, and you’ve got Chicago’s El on a Syracuse scale.

OnTrack didn’t live up to that promise. It never got enough riders to justify its operating costs, and after a few years it stopped running. A lot of people have taken the time to point out all of the problems that kept OnTrack from succeeding–it didn’t run frequently enough, it didn’t run fast enough, and it didn’t run through enough neighborhoods. Without fixing those problems, no transit service running on those train tracks could do what OnTrack tried to do.

Unfortunately, those problems are neither easy, simple, nor cheap to fix. They are the result of real practical constraints.

First, frequency. Most of the right-of-way is single-tracked, so trains running in opposite directions can’t pass each other. That means that only one train can run at a time. It would take that single train about 20 minutes to run between Syracuse University and the Regional Transportation Center or 40 minutes to make the full round trip. That’s no more frequent that Centro’s existing bus service, and it’s much less frequent than the Bus Rapid Transit service that the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council recently recommended for a similar route.

Second, speed. Even though OnTrack only made a couple stops and didn’t have to deal with traffic or stop signs, it took a long looping 4 mile route to get from Downtown to the Mall and the Regional Transportation Center. A Centro bus gets from Downtown to the Regional Transportation Center in less than 3 miles, and so even though it might travel at a lower speed with more stops, its trip wouldn’t take any more time.

That all leads into the third problem, that OnTrack didn’t service residential neighborhoods. The existing track doesn’t run through the densely populated neighborhoods that already support frequent transit in Syracuse, so the only way for passengers from those neighborhoods to get to the train tracks is on a Centro bus. The tracks run within a block of Centro’s hub, so it wouldn’t be hard for people to make the transfer, but since a train running between Downtown Syracuse and the Regional Transportation Center would be neither faster nor more frequent than a bus serving the same destinations, there’s not much reason for a person to walk that block to make the transfer.

Using the existing right-of-way as part of a much larger intercity transit service avoids these problems. First, because its riders will be travelling to destinations not served by existing Centro bus routes, riders have a good reason to transfer from the bus to the train, meaning that the service does not need to pass through densely populated residential neighborhoods to pick up passengers. Second, because a train can make the 65 mile run between Ithaca and Syracuse so much faster than a bus can, it doesn’t matter that they’d run even over the 4 miles between Downtown Syracuse and the Regional Transportation Center. Third, because intercity service doesn’t need to run all that frequently to succeed, a single train running on a single track could provide the service effectively.

Old railroad rights-of-way are precious resources. New political and economic forces make it difficult to build anything like them anymore, so cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Camden have taken their old underused rights-of-way and built new mass transit lines. The New York, Susquehanna, & Western right-of-way could be that kind of asset for Syracuse. OnTrack already showed us what won’t work, so let’s try something new.

This is part of a series about a potential transit service serving Syracuse, Cortland and Ithaca. Here are links to the rest of the series:
Transit Service Between the Airport, Syracuse, Cortland, and Ithaca
University Students and Public Transportation
Uniting Communities through Transit

This is a proposal for an intercity transit service connecting the region of Upstate New York that includes the cities of Syracuse, Cortland, and Ithaca. The region currently contains much of the infrastructure and conditions necessary for successful intercity transit, but what service actually exists is infrequent and disjointed. This proposal consolidates and extends existing service to make it more useful and efficient for the region as a whole.

Route
The proposed transit service would run through a corridor approximately five miles wide and seventy miles long. That corridor stretches from the Hancock International Airport (SYR) through Cortland down to Ithaca. From Syracuse to Cortland, the service would run through the relatively flat and straight valleys carved by Onondaga Creek, Butternut Creek, and the Tioughnioga River, climbing 750 feet over the course of roughly 40 miles. From Cortland to Ithaca, the service would follow a much more irregular valley carved by several small streams before descending 400 feet in less than a mile to reach the City of Ithaca on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake.

There is already a good deal of transportation infrastructure along this corridor. I-81 stretches from SYR to Cortland, and from there vehicles can take NY-13 from Cortland all the way to Ithaca. Vehicles can also turn from NY-13 to NY-366 to pass through Cornell University on the way into Ithaca.

CSX owns a rail line that passes within two miles of the SYR’s passenger terminal. That line continues west through the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center (the RTC, Syracuse’s Amtrak and intercity bus station) to the southern end of Onondaga Lake where it connects to the New York, Susquehanna, & Western line. That railroad curves south through Syracuse, passing Centro’s Bus Hub and Syracuse University, and it continues all the way south through Cortland to the hamlet of Munson’s Corners. There is an abandoned railroad right-of-way between Cortland and Ithaca including roughly four miles of unused track near the hamlet of McLean. In Ithaca, Norfolk Southern owns track that runs from the Ithaca Bus Station (an intercity station) north along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake and connecting to the abandoned right of way that leads to Cortland.

There are a number of regionally significant communities and institutions along the corridor. The cities of Syracuse, Cortland, and Ithaca are each the seat of their respective counties, and each serves as the center of a local transit system. Combined, these three cities and their immediate suburbs are home to more than 500,000 people. More broadly,  the Syracuse-Auburn and Ithaca-Cortland combined statistical areas have a combined population of more than 870,000. There are also seven colleges and universities along the corridor with a combined enrollment of more than 63,000 students as well as two community colleges with a combined enrollment of more than 18,000 students.

Demand
The transit service will enable riders to accomplish two distinct tasks: travelling to or from a transit hub that connects to another intercity transportation service such as Amtrak or Megabus, and travelling between cities within the corridor. There is demonstrated demand for transit service that accomplishes each task.

Transportation to a Hub:
The only intercity passenger train station in the corridor is the RTC in Syracuse. The RTC is also the only bus station in the corridor served by Megabus, and the Centro Bus Hub in Syracuse provides the only intercity bus service to the cities of Oswego and Auburn.

Both the Tompkins Regional Airport in Ithaca (ITH) and SYR provide intercity passenger service. Of these two airports, SYR provides more frequent service to a larger number of cities than does ITH. Flights into and out of SYR are also generally cheaper than those at ITH. People travelling to or from the region by plane often must use SYR even if it would be more convenient to get to ITH.

The service will connect these hubs to three schools with student bodies that need to travel outside of the region frequently. Syracuse University, Cornell University, and Ithaca College enroll a combined total of 50,197 students, 68% of whom are from states other than New York and 18% of whom are from outside of the United States.

Each of those three schools struggles to transport students and visitors to and from the region’s intercity transportation hubs. Syracuse University and Cornell University run their own shuttles to and from SYR at the beginning and end of each semester and holiday break. Syracuse’s service is free, but tickets for Cornell’s service cost $30. Otherwise, Syracuse University simply suggests taking a cab to travel between SYR and the university, or taking Centro between the RTC and the university. Ithaca College offers no transportation to SYR. Both Ithaca College and Cornell suggest that those who need to get either to or from SYR or the RTC can book a ride with the Ithaca Airline Limousine, a private transportation service that can make up to eight runs between Syracuse and Ithaca every weekday and costs $85 for a one-way ticket or $130 for a two-way ticket.

The Syracuse Transit System Analysis (STSA) also identified the need for improved transit service to both the RTC and SYR. The STSA selected the route from Syracuse University to the RTC as a ‘transit improvement corridor’ because of the presence of jobs, carless households, and demonstrated demand for transit along the route. The STSA also recommended the creation of a shuttle service running every half hour between SYR and the RTC to serve airport passengers and employees.

Additionally, other travelers arriving in the region by bus, train, or plane will benefit from improved transit from the intercity transit hubs to destinations such as convention centers and hotels in each city.

Transportation Between Cities:
Centro and Cortland Transit already provide limited intercity transit for commuters. Commuters from Cortland County can catch an express bus to Syracuse from Centro’s Park-N-Ride facility in the Village of Tully. Centro also provides commuter service from both Oswego and Auburn to Syracuse. Cortland Transit runs a commuter service between Cortland and Ithaca.

26% of all workers in Ithaca, Cortland, and Syracuse commute by some mode other than a personal vehicle (public transit, bike, taxi, or on foot). Improved intercity transit between these cities would improve economic opportunity for these workers and encourage intercity commuting. There are 1.3 jobs per household in both Cortland and Ithaca, but only 1.0 jobs per household in Syracuse. Despite the high proportion of jobs to households, median household income is lower in Ithaca ($30,436) than in Syracuse ($31,881) or Cortland ($40,025). At the same time, housing costs are much higher in Ithaca (median property value: $220,000) than in either Syracuse (median property value: $88,800) or Cortland (median property value: $94,200). Workers currently living in Ithaca could more easily move to Syracuse or Cortland for the low housing costs, while people in Syracuse could apply for the relatively more plentiful jobs in Cortland or Ithaca.

Improving transit between Ithaca, Cortland, and Syracuse will increase opportunities for collaboration between the seven colleges and universities in those cities. Currently, each school in Syracuse allows some students to take classes for credit at at least one other school in the city, and Cornell University maintains an exchange program with Ithaca College. Faculty from the seven schools also frequently collaborate on research. Similar programs and cooperation will be possible between schools in different cities when they are connected by reliable frequent transit.

Adjunct professors provide one example of how improved economic opportunity is connected to increased collaboration between the region’s colleges and universities. 26% of the 5,727 faculty employed by the six schools are non-tenure track part time instructors. These adjunct faculty are paid several thousand dollars a semester for each course that they teach. The people who work these jobs often need to teach classes at multiple schools in order to make ends meet. The proposed transit service would broaden the opportunities available adjunct faculty in Ithaca, Cortland, and Syracuse by allowing them to teach more easily at multiple schools in different cities. This would make the region more attractive to recent graduates of all those schools, and it would help the region retain a highly educated workforce.

Additionally, there are unique resources in each city–such as Syracuse’s hospitals and specialized medical centers–that will attract riders from elsewhere along the proposed transit line.

Existing Service
Currently, two intercity bus lines (Greyhound and New York Trailways) and three local transit authorities (Centro, Cortland Transit, and TCAT) provide service along the corridor. Many of these services overlap, making it possible to travel a great distance within the corridor by making transfers at important junctions. Here is a table of all connecting weekday service currently available within the corridor.

Although these different bus services can take a rider pretty far, it is very difficult to travel the corridor’s entire length. New York Trailways offers service once a day in each direction between Ithaca and SYR, and it is possible to use regional transit to travel from Ithaca to SYR at only one other time on any weekday. Here is a table of all connecting weekday service from Ithaca to SYR currently available within the corridor.

Using currently available service, a rider trying to get between SYR and Ithaca will have to pay either $16.50 or $17.00 to take a ride lasts between 100 and 205 minutes.

Proposed Transit Service
Stops:
The proposed transit service should run from SYR to the Ithaca Bus Station and make intermediate stops at the RTC, the Centro Bus Hub, Syracuse University, the Cortland County Office Building (Cortland Transit’s main transfer point), and Cornell University.

Stops at the Centro Bus Hub, Cortland County Office Building, and Ithaca Bus Station will enable residents of all three cities to transfer between Centro, Cortland Transit, TCAT and the proposed transit service. By making these stops, the proposed service will be able to transport people to and from their homes.

Stops at SYR, the RTC, and the Ithaca Bus Station will enable people travelling to or from the region by train, plane, or bus to to transfer between those transportation modes and the proposed transit service. By making these stops, the proposed service will connect the region to a national transportation system.

Stops at the Centro Bus Hub, Syracuse University, Cortland County Office Building, and Cornell University will enable people to reach the centers of employment in all three cities. By making these stops, the proposed service will be able to transport people to and from their jobs.

The service could also make additional stops at the Village of Tully, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and/or ITH in order to allow local transit authorities to eliminate some existing service and redirect funds to support the proposed service.

Mode:
The proposed transit service should operate as either a bus line or rail line. Much of the infrastructure necessary for either mode is already in place, and each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

As a rail line, the proposed transit service would follow a roughly 70 mile long route from SYR to the Ithaca Bus Station with intermediate stops at the RTC, the Centro bus hub, Syracuse University, and Cortland. The line would follow 48 miles of existing rights-of-way from the RTC to Cortland and in Ithaca, and it would require 22 miles of new rights-of-way between the RTC and SYR, and between Cortland and Ithaca.

A rail line could run at high speeds unimpeded by traffic. Amtrak trains run at speeds between 46 and 67 mph on similar stretches of track elsewhere in Upstate New York. At those speeds, a train would complete the entire run between SYR and the Ithaca bus station in 67 to 91 minutes. That’s significantly faster the 120 to 150 minutes that a bus would take to make the same run.

As a bus line, the proposed transit service would follow an approximately 68 mile route from SYR to the Ithaca Bus Station with stops at the RTC, Centro Bus Hub, Syracuse University, Cortland County Office Building, and Cornell University. The line would follow I-81 from SYR to exit 11 at Cortland, making stops at the RTC, the Centro Bus Hub, and Syracuse University on the way. From exit 11, the line would follow NY-13 through Cortland and Dryden before taking NY-366 to Tower Road and Cornell University. From Tower Road, the line would continue through Ithaca to the Ithaca Bus Station.

Operating the proposed transit service as a bus line eliminates the need to purchase, build, or negotiate for any inch of right-of-way. This would make the proposed transit service much less expensive upfront. Using existing roadways also would allow the transit service to stop at Cornell University, a stop that is inaccessible to rail because of the steep grade that separates the university from the Ithaca Bus Station. Finally, because existing roadways can accommodate two-way traffic, multiple buses could run along the line simultaneously, allowing for more frequent service. This would be impossible for a rail line because almost all of the existing rail infrastructure is single-tracked, meaning trains running in opposite directions cannot pass each other.

Schedule:
A rail service could make the round-trip in 180 minutes. Running continuously from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm, a train could make five round-trips between SYR and the Ithaca Bus Station. At higher speeds, a train could make the round-trip in less time, allowing for more runs in the same amount of time.

A bus service could make the round-trip in 270 minutes. Running continuously from 6:00 am to 7:30 pm, 2 buses could make six trips from SYR to the Ithaca Bus Station and six trips from the Ithaca Bus Station to SYR. More buses could make more runs in the same amount of time.

Operating on these or similar schedules, the proposed transit service would facilitate intercity commuting, and it would facilitate transfers to other intercity buses, trains, and planes.

Fare Structure:
The proposed transit service should charge zone-based fares with significant discounts for multi-ride or monthly passes. This fare structure will allow the proposed transit service to compete for both regular commuters and for riders travelling between cities infrequently. Here are two potential ways to divide the proposed transit line into zones with one-way fares that can compete with all currently available transportation options.

Conclusion
A transit service between Ithaca, Cortland, and Syracuse would benefit the entire region by connecting centers of population, employment, local transit, and intercity transportation. Such a service would build on the region’s strengths by facilitating travel to and between its many academic and research institutions, making them more attractive to students and scholars from outside the region, and more accessible to workers from within the region.

The main obstacle to establishing this service is cooperation. The service would run through, and require the support of, three different counties, three different cities, three different transportation authorities, many more towns and villages, and several large private institutions like Cornell University and Syracuse University. Very few of these entities have regular cause to work together, but this transit service has the potential to get them to cooperate on a single project, to start thinking of each other as part of a unified region with common goals and interests. That would be a big change in Upstate New York, and it would be the best thing this transit service could do.

For more reading on this proposal, click the links below:
Learning from OnTrack
University Students and Public Transportation
Uniting Communities through Transit

On November 2, the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council held its final public information session about the SMART1 study. That study looks at the possibility of improving bus service along specific corridors in the Syracuse metropolitan area. It is the first of multiple planned studies that will recommend specific service improvements to Centro based on the Syracuse Transit System Analysis that SMTC produced as a supplement to NYSDOT’s work on I-81.

The SMART1 study focuses on bus service from Eastwood to OCC and from the train station to SU–these are two of the six high-priority transit corridors identified in the STSA. For each corridor, the SMTC analyzed low, medium, and high levels of improvement. The low level increases the number of buses running along existing routes, builds new shelters at the bus stops, and gives buses priority at traffic lights. The medium level runs even more buses along new routes in the corridor, removes some bus stops, builds new shelters at the remaining bus stops, and buys new buses. The high level does everything that the medium level does, but it also puts in bus lanes where streets are wide enough to accommodate them.

For both corridors, SMTC recommends that Centro build the medium level of improvement. That means buses running every 10 to 15 minutes along James St/South Ave, and along Salina St through downtown to SU. It means no transfer for people riding either route crosstown. It means new buses and shorter travel times. That’s all good.

It’s also good that the SMTC hasn’t recommended the high level of improvement. In order to build bus lanes between SU and the train station, Centro would have to run the new bus route along Solar St instead of N Salina St. That’d cut down on travel times, but it would send the bus through a bunch of planned and existing luxury apartment complexes instead of through the Northside. Given that choice, it’s better that the bus run through a neighborhood where it’s needed, even if that means it has to deal with some traffic.

Now it’s up to Centro to act on these recommendations. It’ll require a lot scheduling of work–the SMTC’s recommendations don’t go into details like when the buses should actually run, how these new routes will connect with existing routes, or what should happen to minor routes like the 21 or 28 that run through these corridors but serve other neighborhoods too. It’ll require a lot of cooperation–some of these improvements, like priority at traffic lights, can only come if Centro works with City Hall to make them happen. It’ll require a lot of money–those new buses and bus shelters will cost money up front, and Centro will have to hire more drivers and pay for more repairs if it’s going to offer more frequent service. Those are all steep hills to climb, but they’re well worth climbing. Call Centro and tell them you want these changes. Call City Hall and tell them you want them to help Centro make these changes. Call your state reps and tell them you want the State to help pay for these changes.

Centro:
315-442-3400
CEO@centro.org

Mayor Stephanie Miner:
315-448-8005
Mayor@syrgov.net

Common Council:
Councilors’ Contact details are available here

Senator John DeFrancisco:
315-428-7632
jdefranc@nysenate.gov

Senator Dave Valeski:
315-478-8745
valesky@nysenate.gov

Assemblymember Bill Magnarelli:
315-428-9651
MagnarW@nysassembly.gov

Assemblymember Pam Hunter:
315-449-9536
HunterP@nysassembly.gov

On September 27, Centro proposed a new transit pass that would offer unlimited rides for seven consecutive calendar days. These new MAX passes would cost $20 ($10 reduced fare), equivalent to the cost of paying the full cash fare two times each day of a five-day work week.

Centro had sold 7-day unlimited passes for $15 prior to 2015. The transit agency stopped offering unlimited passes in order to save enough money to maintain its late-night and Sunday service during a budget crisis in the Spring of 2015. Since that time, the only way for people to get a deal on their fare has been to buy 10-ride passes for $18, 20-ride passes for $36, or 30-ride passes for $54. Centro also sells unlimited single day passes for $5.

The new MAX passes are definitely a good thing. For anyone who takes the bus at least 12 times a week, the $20 MAX passes will be cheaper than the cheapest option currently available–the multi-ride passes that price out to $1.80 a trip.

Unlimited passes like these also remove the stress of choosing which trips to make in any given week. An unexpected trip to the doctor won’t take away the fare that you’d intended to use to get to the grocery store. With unlimited rides, each extra trip you take makes the pass a better deal.

This benefits Centro as well, because part of their funding from the State is determined by the number of rides they provide. If these passes allow people to afford more bus rides, then Centro will receive more State funding automatically.

Although this is all good news, the MAX pass still won’t make transit as affordable in Syracuse as it is in Rochester or Albany.

RTS and CDTA provide Rochester and Albany with more extensive service than Syracuse gets from Centro, and they do it while charging their riders less money. Syracuse should be getting better transit service for the price its people are paying. NFTA in Buffalo charges the same $2 cash fare as Centro, and they’ve got a subway to show for it.

An unlimited monthly pass would go a long way towards making the bus more affordable in Syracuse. Before that 2015 budget crisis, Centro had offered monthly passes for $60. If they reintroduce an unlimited monthly pass for something like $65 or $70, that would put a little more money in people’s pockets, and it would encourage more people to ride the bus. Hopefully, this weekly MAX pass is the first step towards bringing the monthly passes back.

Centro is hosting an information session from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm on Wednesday October 18 at OCPL’s Central Library. At 5:30 pm they’ll begin a public hearing. Show up, find out all the details, and let them know what you need out of your transit system.

On August 20, the Community Library of Dewitt and Jamesville will open its brand new building at 5110 Jamesville Road. This new location is two miles away from Shoppingtown Mall where the library had been a tenant for 55 years. On August 2, the Post-Standard reported that Centro would not divert an existing bus line to service this new location. Wendy Scott, the Dewitt library’s executive director, told the Post-Standard that “we would welcome a bus route to the new library and plan on revisiting the issue after we open at the new location.”

This should be obvious, but Centro can’t just change a route because the library’s moving. All of its routes are timed in relation to each other in order to facilitate transfers. If Centro extends the 62 route to service the new library, then that bus would miss the lineup at the end of its return trip to the Hub, and people trying to get across town would have to wait until the next lineup to make their transfers.

It’s also unreasonable to expect Centro to run a bus line down Jamesville Road just to serve the library. Transit only works when it links lots of riders with lots of destinations. Buses travel along Erie Boulevard and Genesee Street because lots of people need to get to the many destinations along those corridors. Jamesville Road doesn’t have enough destinations to support a bus line, and adding a single destination like a library is not going to change that.

Since Centro can’t just change its bus schedule to cater specifically to the library’s needs, the library should have moved to a location along an existing bus line. This is something bus riders understand. When you rely on the bus to get around, decisions about where to live or where to work or where to hang out depend on the presence of a bus line–it’s non-negotiable.

Director Scott doesn’t see bus service as something that the library needs. She sees it as a luxury–an option that she would like for the library to have, but not one that’s important enough to really drive big decisions. It certainly wouldn’t have been impossible for the library to find a location along an existing bus route–every single one of the other 31 libraries in Onondaga County is accessible by bus–but access for bus riders took a backseat to other concerns when the library’s board decided to move to Jamesville Road.

As a public institution committed to the empowerment of the entire community without regard to income, the library is its most effective when it’s accessible to the entire community–especially those members of the community who can’t afford to buy books or access technology on their own. These are the same people who also can’t afford cars. It may be that “less than 2 percent of library users said they take the bus to the library,” but that’s no reason to make the library inaccessible to that two percent. If only 2 percent of library users need wheelchairs, that wouldn’t be a reason to remove the handicap ramps. The library’s decision to move to a spot inaccessible by bus was a decision to exclude part of the community from a valuable public resource, and it was a mistake.