Centro buses wait as riders board at the Connective Corridor Hub on Syracuse University's campus. Photo by Julie McMahon

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.

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Chris Libonati covers government, accountability and equity. Have a tip? Contact Chris at 585-290-0718 or libonati@centralcurrent.org.