Centro has added a bus route from downtown Syracuse through the city’s South Side to its plans for bus rapid transit.
That route will run from the bus hub in downtown Syracuse, near the corner of Adams and South Salina streets, to Valley Plaza. The current plans have the route traveling down South Salina Street.
“It made sense. There’s significant ridership there,” said Steve Koegel, Centro’s vice president of communications and business planning. “It’s a location of transit propensity and usage. So there’s going to be a potential increase in ridership.”
Centro, the region’s public transportation authority, is unsure of whether the South Salina Street route will be added in BRT’s initial implementation or if it will be phased in, he said.
The extra route could cost up to an extra $3 million, though that would be on high end, he said. BRT is expected to be put in place by late 2026, according to Koegel.
Bus rapid transit, or BRT, is different from Centro’s current services. BRT operates at fixed intervals, making routes more accessible and often eliminating reliance on complex bus schedules.
Making the route down South Salina Street possible will include a number of enhancements that account for the cost, including:
- Adding digital and real-time bus schedules to each stop
- Creating cut outs for buses to pick up riders
- Traffic enhancements including updating of traffic signals that allow buses to hold green lights slightly longer
It’s unclear how the cost to enhance the streets will be shared with the city, Koegel said.
The route will run to Valley Plaza for a few reasons, he said. Centro determined the potential for ridership diminishes beyond Seneca Turnpike and there are few places to turn around a bus once you arrive at Seneca Turnpike.
Koegel also expressed hope that running a route to Valley Plaza could help bring a grocery store there, something residents have asked for a long time.
“Maybe it’s a ‘build it you will come,’” Koegel said. “If there’s transit and BRT there, maybe we can inspire the development of Valley Plaza.”
Plans for bus rapid transit in Syracuse previously included two routes: one expected to run from Onondaga Community College to Eastwood and another expected to run from Destiny USA Mall to Syracuse University.
The service has been a focus for transportation advocates since at least 2018. In the last year, Centro officials have announced more formalized plans for the service.
BRT gained traction when Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council released its SMART 1 study, which advocated for the region to add the service. SMTC, the region’s metropolitan planning organization, suggested that two previously announced routes would be best for the service.
Funding has long been one of the two most difficult challenges to putting BRT in place because it requires enhanced bus stops, traffic signal enhancements and updated buses. But post-pandemic, the federal government allocated $22 million to Centro.
The other challenge has been hiring bus drivers, Koegel said.
BRT has been seen by politicians and decision-makers as a way to make traveling through the city and the county more accessible. It could also make car-less travel for leisure or work more feasible.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh included BRT as a policy goal during his run for re-election in 2021.
Micron announcing it was coming to Clay in late 2022 helped reignite talk about BRT. At the time, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Centerstate CEO president Rob Simpson each said they expected BRT to become a reality.
About midway through last year, McMahon told Central Current he wanted the county to look into whether bus rapid transit or light rail could work to the outer reaches of the county. BRT and public transportation often require higher population density, something portions of the county don’t currently have.
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