There's now a Rochester connection if you take the public bus system in Ontario County. As of Friday, Ontario County Transit Service is now part of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transit Authority.
There has been talk about trying to accomplish that affiliation for a number of years, but officials in Ontario County recently decided to approve the agreement after a change in the way their bus system had been funded.
The CEO of RGRTA, Bill Carpenter says the RTS bus system will now absorb buses owned by Ontario County.
"They've got a very significant fleet that we've taken ownership of effective today, we're going to continue with the routes as they were structured and then begin planning for, not just how do we serve Ontario County, but how do we serve Monroe, Wayne, Ontario and Seneca County.”
RGRTA also serves Livingston, Orleans, Seneca and Wyoming Counties as well as Batavia in Genesee County.
Carpenter says absorbing Ontario County into their system helps his agency better able to regionalize its service.
"People don't have destinations that stop at county borders and with Ontario County now as part of our service area we can do some significant regional planning that will be more effective for the residents and employers in that area.”
The transit system in Ontario County provides nearly 330,000 rides per year. At this point, routes and fares will remain the same.
