Rochester, New York, is part of Upstate New York and is among other cities in the state that need a public transportation system that is good enough to take people throughout the city and to their destinations. We have all the information you need to know about Rochester’s public transportation.
There is Public Transportation in Rochester, New York. The public transportation in Rochester consists of ride-sharing, the RTS Transit Center, E Scooters, E-bikes or rentals, and trains. These public transportation options are the best, safest, and fastest ways to get around Rochester, New York.
Public transportation has a track record of being notoriously difficult in some cities, and Rochester is no exception. Finding the information to make traveling through Rochester is not as easy as most would like. But here, we put all the hassle aside so that the information you need is at your fingertips and no longer on three different tabs. Keep reading to find out more!
RTS Transit Center
The bus system for Rochester is called RTS and has a Transit Center from which it operates. The information concerning the bus routes and how to get there can be somewhat confusing for anyone who is not an original resident. But, if someone is moving here and needs to familiarize themselves with the area, knowing how the bus system works is smart.
Rochester is one city that has a higher rate of lower-income families and residents. Because of this, some of the fares won’t reflect what others might expect from other bus systems, and while this does seem to be a good thing, it should definitely be noted to help keep everyone informed.
The RTS
charges around $1.00 for adults on the bus and $0.50 for children and others needing the reduced fare. It aims to conform to the standards for accessibility for those with disabilities. This helps all residents of Rochester be more inclined to take the bus than another form of transportation.
The RTS website has an interactive Google Maps addition to show where all of the bus routes go through Rochester, and also to highlight which of the bus routes is for the On Demand section as well as the Connect section. The On-Demand can be used by anyone but is also accessible for ADA-accessible riders and can be requested in a variety of zones following all other bus and public transportation guidelines and rules to gain access to this service.
Ride-Share Services
Ride-sharing services for transportation are usually the most reliable and go to for any sort of city district, seeing as it is paid for it is still considered a public transportation for many of the residents of any city. The drivers must pass background checks amongst other qualifications to be allowed to drive and pick up riders legally. These security measures make ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft safer than other methods of public transportation for the most part.
While not as cost-efficient as any other method, they are more reliable than most bus services. And, they typically arrive on time directly where you need rather than the passenger having to sit and wait at bus stops. Which, because of the schedule the bus system follows, cannot change for your convenience. That does make it a lot more convenient for an average resident of Rochester rather than fighting to get to where they need to be at a bus stop.
Most Ubers cost between $17-$20 for a twenty-minute ride from one destination to another. This might change from city to city, so check out the calculation Uber has on their website. It helps riders figure out how much money an Uber ride will cost for their specific ride.
Another popular ride-sharing app that is widely used is Lyft. Lyft is great to look at in comparison to Uber before you buy a ride from either of them. You can then compare the costs and see which deal you would rather take. More information specifically about Lyft can be found on their website, and it shows a great map of what areas they cover in the Rochester area as well. It also helps users plan out how much they will potentially be charged for a trip once their destinations are put into the system.
The best way to use these ride-sharing apps is if you are visiting the area and want to get around from your hotel to a restaurant, and they are great for rides you need fast. Maybe you are running late for an event, and you simply need someone with a car to get you there. These apps are made just for those conveniences, and the prices definitely reflect the cost of convenience.
E-Bikes, E-Scooters, and Bike Rentals
E-Scooters are another popular method of transportation that relies on the user’s ability to locate one and pay for it to ride around. This method of public transportation is one that is up and coming. It has its issues and problems, but overall, in a city that is largely walkable, it’s a good option.
One of the larger companies that provide electric and regular scooters that people can rent according to their schedule is HOPR. They have a website that lets a user sign up and calculate how much they’re willing to pay to rent the scooters that can be found in various locations.
HOPR doesn’t just do scooters though. They can do bicycle rentals as well, including e-bikes, which is a huge bonus for the residents of Rochester, as some people prefer using bikes over scooters. This makes the service extremely versatile for the many people who live in Rochester, and it allows people to choose the option they can afford, which is great for low-income residents of Rochester. Currently, they are the only scooter program that is in Rochester, New York.
Along with HOPR, there are other similar companies like Lime. Lime is one of the larger e-scooter companies that has test-run their products in many states. And, given the high rate of success, this method has become more and more prevalent in cities across the United States. The rate will sometimes vary from either mileage or from minutes spent using the small vehicle.
They usually go off of a plan and whereas some of these companies might rely on a subscription-based program. HOPR has a $1 fee to unlock the scooter or bike per ride, and $20 for a whole month and charges more for minutes than what some companies do with charging per mile from there on out. This is much more sustainable for anyone who might be a little more pressed for funds, which does well for an area like Rochester where there are many lower-income families and people in the area.
Respecting these services will help them keep their services at this lower cost as opposed to several other places in the states that don’t, and will promote the business as needed for them to get the customer traffic they need.
Trains Through Rochester
While the city of Rochester does not have an actual train system, they do have two train station stops that are with the Amtrak station. One with the bus terminal and one with the Louise M. Slaughter Station. This train track goes straight through the city and doesn’t have any other stops along the way. It goes throughout the state of New York and is intended to be long-distance transportation when Greyhound buses won’t do the trick.
This train company isn’t just for the state of New York as it boasts over 500+ destinations across the country with coast-to-coast service. It’s said to be one of the most known train services across the United States and most larger cities will have an Amtrak station housed within so that travelers can use a different transportation service to travel and see the country.
While the Amtrak train services don’t do much to send residents from one end of the city to the other, they are a transportation service that could help a traveler to make it into Rochester, New York to visit, or to residents in Rochester needing to commute to another city for work.
The train usually runs its ticket service through RideReserve, a mobile app that lets people pay with no contact straight from the card. The exact price of a ticket will depend on the distance traveled, as well as the other train expenses. In order to understand what that would be, a train passenger would have to plan a trip and reserve their tickets. There are discounts available for a large variety of people, including and not limited to veterans, seniors, and children.
These discounts can also consist of sales on the private sleeper compartments. All of this is to help people travel in comfort. Although Rochester does not have a railway for the town system, the other services make up for it. And, having access to a large train service such as Amtrak gives another way to get out of the city if flying by airplane isn’t a sustainable or safe travel option for any sort of guest or resident.
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