FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2019
City of Kingston
Bus Service Merges With Ulster County on July 1
Bus Service Will
Be Free For Six Months
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steve Noble and
Ulster County Area Transit would like to remind City of Kingston bus riders
that service changes go into effect on Monday, July 1, 2019. UCAT will now be
operating modified CitiBus routes. All City of Kingston bus service on the Red,
Blue and Yellow (formerly the A, B and C) routes will be free of charge to
passengers until the end of the year.
“The merger of the City and County bus
systems will include so many benefits for Kingston bus riders,” said Mayor
Steve Noble. “Improvements include shorter ride time to your destination, more
frequent service, flagged pick-up between stops, and free wi-fi on the buses.
The updated routes were thoughtfully designed to service more residents in
low-income areas, and to better serve seniors and those with disabilities. All
of these are positive changes, and ridership will be free for the first six
months.”
The new routes were developed using
extensive ridership data including on-bus ridership counts and
widely-distributed surveys. The goals of the merger are to provide service to
all major destinations in the City of Kingston and critical points beyond;
reduce travel time between locations; utilize new hubs to make connections with
existing UCAT service smoother; and to provide service to low-ridership and
remote areas of the City not previously reached. UCAT’s carefully considered
new transit routes provide connectivity to key residential locations,
commercial corridors and public services within the City while reducing overlap
on existing CitiBus and UCAT routes. To supplement the new transit service in
low ridership areas, Demand Response zones have been established. Demand
Response service will bring riders outside the immediate transit coverage area
to a transfer hub in order to connect with regular bus routes. Users may
request the Demand Response service 1 hour or more in advance and must be
pre-approved based on address.
Riders can download the UCAT app
(available at Google
Play and Apple iTunes)
which provides real-time location of the buses, estimated arrival times,
arrival notifications, route maps and schedules.
Route info:
The Weekday Red route runs from the
Kingston Plaza to the Golden Hill Complexes and on to the Law Enforcement
Center via Clinton and Greenkill Avenues, and the Boulevard, and return via
Wall St., N. Front St. and Frog Alley and Schwenk Dr. Trailways connection is
available at Frog Alley. The route has an estimated travel time of 15 minutes
each way.
The Weekday Blue route starting at the
Kingston Plaza provides service along Broadway. This route makes stops at key
areas including Benedictine Hospital, SUNY Ulster Satellite Campus, Yosman
Towers, Wurts/Spring Streets, Garraghan Drive, Rondout Gardens, and reverses
back to the Plaza. This route is estimated to have a travel time of 15 minutes
each way.
The Weekday Yellow route runs southeast
servicing the Department of Social Services, Colonial Gardens, Stuyvesant
Charter apartments, Kingston Hospital to Port Ewen with the turnaround at the
PE Birches Complex. The route will also offer connection to the Blue line on
Jensen Ave. This route is estimated to have a travel time of 20 minutes each
way.
The Saturday Routes will be provided by
two buses and offer alternating services between the Red and Blue routes. The
Yellow route will alternate service between the mall area and Kingston Point
Park.
Schedules and routes can also be found at
UCAT’s website: https://ulstercountyny.gov/ucat/bus-schedules
All UCAT buses are wheelchair equipped and
have bicycle racks. Dispatch is available to answer questions during regular
bus service hours (4:45am -11:00pm) at 845-334-8458.
More information about how to make a
Demand Response reservation, Paratransit eligibility, UCAT connecting routes,
holiday schedules and more, can be found at: https://ulstercountyny.gov/ucat/ulster-county-area-transit