Centro and the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council are seeking community input on how to improve public transportation options in Central New York.
The two organizations released a survey, available here, for members of the public to provide feedback on local transportation.
Steve Koegel, Centro’s vice president of communications and business planning, said the survey will run through at least early April.
While the survey is available, Centro and SMTC plan to team up and host at least two forums to get community feedback. After the survey closes, the groups will hold additional meetings with community members.
“We want to make sure we get a good response and a response that’s representative of the demographic we serve,” Koegel said.
Centro is undergoing change. Koegel said ridership trends in the region have changed during the pandemic and could even more in a few years with the arrival of Micron.
He emphasized the need to serve a “reverse commute,” a term that refers to when people living in the city commute to the suburbs for work.
The survey is at least in part intended to capture the new needs of people in the region.
Meghan Vitale, principal transportation planner at SMTC, said the two organizations hope to better understand how public transportation can better serve people who don’t currently use Centro services.
Earlier this year, Centro announced it intends to implement bus-rapid transit by 2025 or 2026 and expand the city’s bike-share program.
read more about transportation
Centro eyes expansion of Syracuse’s Veo bike share program
The expansion would allow Veo bikes to travel outside Syracuse and into Onondaga County.
Centro makes plans for bus rapid transit system in Syracuse by 2026
Centro will present its plans for BRT to the Common Council on Tuesday.
Next challenge for Centro’s bus rapid transit plan for Syracuse: staffing
BRT is expected to be implemented by 2026.
Smart growth: How planning and transportation could help maximize Micron’s impact on Syracuse
Syracuse can learn the importance of planning from Malta, a city down Interstate 90, that received a chip plant in 2009.