Regional Transportation Authority CEO Bill Carpenter announced they will be ending their partnership with the Rochester City School District in June. The bus company has been providing service to the RCSD for 37 years, and busses about 3500 students a day.
Carpenter says this decision was made with regard to public safety. One recent violent outburst at the RTS Transit Center resulted in a bystander getting hurt.
"We have to make a decision: Do we feel confident it can be a safe place? And what we decided is this is the best way we can serve our customers and the community."
Carpenter says ending their contract will eliminate 144 jobs.
In a statement, RCSD Superintendent Bolgen Vargas writes:
“The abrupt decision by RTS to end 37 years of service makes it exceptionally difficult for the District to provide transportation for our secondary students this summer and in the next school year. We will have no other choice but to provide our students daily passes to access the public transportation system. This model is currently used in Buffalo and many other urban centers with great success.”
