Plans to build a bus rapid transit system in the city of Syracuse continues in earnest as Centro cobbles together funding for the $35 million project. But the project is moving closer to reality after an additional $3 million from the recently approved federal spending bill.
Planning for bus rapid transit, or BRT, goes back at least five years, when the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council released a study identifying the two corridors that crisscross the city. But funding has always been the biggest challenge. Centro CEO Brian Schultz said there are several pieces that have to fall into place.
"Engineering costs, shelters, new buses, maybe some curb cuts…those are all things that are going to be identified in the updating of this study, Schultz said. "That's why it's a process that will take place over a couple year period."
He anticipates BRT will be up and running by 2026 at the latest. Schultz said they have hired a transportation consultant to revisit the study and update it with more recent ridership numbers. The ultimate goal, Schultz said, is to increase ridership by making it easier for people to move around the city.
"One of the things you look at is frequency," Schultz said. "If the frequency just isn't there to make it a convenient trip, you're probably going to find another mode of transportation. One of the things BRT does is greatly increase the frequency of the bus service."
So, instead of 30- to 40-minute headways between buses, Schultz said BRT would bring times down to 12 to 18 minutes.
There have been several new developments since the study's completion that could impact transit and those who use it. Among them: Amazon's new warehouse in Clay, the state's final decision to replace the I-81 viaduct with a community grid and Micron's $100 billion investment. Schultz said updating the study will consider the newer developments, but they have a negligible effect on BRT routes.
"I don't believe they will have a large-scale impact on BRT," Schultz said. "BRT route has already been determined. It's the 'X' that kind of runs through the city."
One line of the X-shaped route connects Eastwood with Onondaga Community College; the other links University Hill to the regional transportation center, with both meeting at the main hub downtown. Schultz said Centro will share more information with the public as BRT plans come together in the coming year.
