Bus riders in the Rochester region are getting some of the most reliable service in Upstate New York, according to a new report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office that examined on-time performance at the state’s four largest regional transit systems.
The report found that Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority’s Regional Transit Service consistently outperformed its peers over the last decade, maintaining on-time performance above its 88% target every year from 2015 through 2024. RTS recorded a 92.4% on-time rate in 2024, the highest sustained performance among the major systems studied. By comparison, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority in Buffalo achieved an 81.2% on-time rate in 2024, while the Capital District Transportation Authority in the Albany region reported monthly performance ranging from 66.7% to 77.7% between mid-2023 and early 2026.
The comptroller’s report examined transit systems serving more than 5.6 million residents across 22 counties in Upstate New York. Together, the four major authorities — RGRTA, NFTA, CDTA and Centro — provided nearly 48 million passenger trips in 2024 using more than 1,600 vehicles and employing over 4,500 workers. While ridership has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, only CDTA has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. RGRTA and NFTA remain at roughly 60% of their 2014 ridership totals, while Centro has recovered to about 77% of its pre-pandemic level.
The report noted that RGRTA’s eight-county service area carried more than 10.7 million passenger trips in 2024, with 95.6% of those rides occurring on RTS routes serving Rochester and surrounding Monroe County communities. Several of RGRTA’s rural subsidiaries posted even stronger on-time performance than RTS. RTS Wayne recorded a 99.8% on-time rate in 2024, while RTS Seneca posted a 98.3% rate and RTS Ontario reached 94.4%.
Despite strong performance metrics, the comptroller’s office warned that transit systems across Upstate face financial pressures. State funding now accounts for roughly half or more of operating revenue at all four authorities, while fare revenue remains below pre-pandemic levels for most systems. The report said some agencies have already discussed service reductions or route changes to address budget challenges as federal pandemic aid expires and ridership recovery remains uneven.
The comptroller’s office concluded that transit agencies should improve transparency around on-time performance reporting and continue evaluating strategies to improve reliability without reducing accessibility for riders who depend on public transportation for work, school and daily activities.
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