Rochester, N.Y. – The first shovels will go in the ground for the new downtown bus terminal in three weeks.
Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority is building a $49 million, 26-bay bus station on Mortimer St. between Clinton and St. Paul streets.
The facility could dramatically change not only the experience of bus riders, but of the center city. The buses will no longer line up on Main Street, blocking first floor retail and taking up a lane of traffic. Bus riders will have shelter and access to bathrooms.
The station will also have information kiosks, bike racks, lockers, artwork, electronic displays, security and police presence.
“What we’ll have is the kind of experience people will say, ‘You’ve got to take the bus. It’s just a lot more fun to get from home to work going through the transit center,’” said RGRTA CEO Bill Carpenter.
About 25,000 people take the bus downtown every day.
The transit center is expected to be finished in 2014.
