http://youtu.be/SZDahmyNbXA
The new RTS Transit Center officially opened Friday. A number of riders WXXI News spoke with seem to like the new facility, even though it will take a while to get used to all the changes.
It's quite a change from waiting in the cold on Main Street...a heated, well-lit Transit Center with classical music playing in the background. That's what greeted the first riders using the $50 million facility, which takes buses off the main street stops downtown, and moves them within the block long Transit Center. It looks more like an airport terminal than a bus station, with various boarding gates and lighted signs with route information.
Among the riders happy with the changes, Robert Selznick of Rochester.
"Faster service, faster schedules and restrooms here, and the buses are not crowding up main street and be able to get to places faster."
And being in out of the cold was another reason Selznick and other riders like the new building.
RGRTA CEO Bill Carpenter realizes there will be some confusion at first, so they have extra staff on hand.
"We have an abundance of what we're calling ambassadors, so many customers need to learn where do I go, you can't just stand in a spot , wait for the bus, you need to go to the gate that the bus is at, just like an airport."
As an added incentive, people getting on at the new transit facility will get on the bus for free through the end of the year.
