Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Nearly 15.7 million boardings were recorded, a 5% increase from last year, which was reinforced by 26 consecutive months of month-to-month ridership increases. Revenue from customers was 6% higher this year as compared to last year. Growth took off with the introduction of the agency’s new BRT system.

Albany’s CDTA BusPlus ridership represents 10% of the more than 15.5 million trips taken on the system during the 2013 fiscal year, and the total boardings represent its highest ridership in more than 20 years.

This program further enhances safety at the agency's BRT stations with LED lighting and routine monitoring from supervisors. The cameras aid in protecting and reassuring customer safety by reducing vandalism and other potential criminal activity.

The application dedicated to BusPlus bus rapid transit service features real-time information for devices operating on Apple, Android and Blackberry platforms. Customers are now able to see when the bus is coming to any station serviced by BusPlus.

Prior to the launch of the service last September, the college and Saratoga Taxi maintained an arrangement to provide free rides for students returning to campus after 11 p.m. Free cabs are available to students between the hours of 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.

Agency will roll back to its original fare on Sept. 16. CDTA has served more than half a billion customers on its regular route system since it started in 1970.

Study found that 51 percent of its undergrad students use either university's bus fleet or CDTA on a daily basis, with the number dropping to 44 percent when including graduate students.

Frank Kobliski succeeds Ray Melleady, former executive director of the Capital District Transportation Authority in Albany, N.Y.

Melleady began his tenure at the Albany, N.Y.-based agency in 2004 as director of operations and became executive director in 2006.

Customers can connect their laptop or PDA to the Internet through a wireless router, which has been installed on all NX buses.