Central New York, New York

The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CNYRTA) is a public authority and a public benefit corporation of New York State, created in 1970. Its purpose is to continue, further develop, and improve transportation and related services in the Central New York Transportation District. Of the seven New York Counties eligible to join the transportation district, three counties have been part of the authority district since at least 1973 and a fourth will have commenced service on April 1, 2005. CNYRTA provides approximately 12 million passenger trips annually, covering more than 5.2 million miles of service with a combined fleet of 208 small and large buses.

Examples of CNYRTA’s efforts to implement new, innovative strategies to improve the coordination of public and human services transportation include coordinating ride services with the paratransit division and several local not-for-profits agencies in 1978 enhancing transportation services for foster families/grandchildren; access to nutrition, shopping centers, and medical care for seniors; improved access to employment opportunities for visually impaired individuals. In 1985 CNYRTA expanded to include the areas Metropolitan Commission on Aging, increasing the availability of coordinated services to the areas senior population. Medicaid transportation was added in 1996, providing enhanced transportation alternatives for Medicaid patients traveling to and from their doctor/hospital appointments; Projects in 1999 addressed the growing needs of low-income individuals/families by leveraging Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) funding. CNYRTA also enhanced portio

CNYRTA was one of the first transportation providers in the State to form partnerships with local employers, colleges, universities, and other community sectors when it implemented its Mobility Management Center (MMC) in 1999 and today is a one-stop transportation center. Other unique aspects of this system are that it provides individualized trip planning, directing individuals to lower cost fixed route services; computer assistance scheduling/dispatching software; automated passenger counters; and automated vehicle location to aid development and implementation of coordinated transportation services.