The Capital District Transportation Authority has launched a new route meant to enhance travel throughout the region.
The newly connected Purple Line is part of CDTA’s Bus Rapid Transport line, or BRT. The line runs along Washington and Western Avenues offering limited stop service throughout the city of Albany. Riders can easily go between Crossgates Mall, the University at Albany’s campuses, and downtown.
Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he secured nearly $115 million in federal funding to provide riders accessible, affordable transportation. The Democrat spoke at UAlbany Monday.
“What we’re doing here today, this new purple bus line and the two others that we have funded already are a national model,” Schumer said.
The Purple Line connects to the existing Red and Blue lines to allow travelers to move efficiently between Cohoes, Troy, Waterford, Watervliet, Colonie, Niskayuna and Schenectady seven days a week.
Speaking at UAlbany’s new ETEC building, Schumer says improved transportation could lead to increased attraction for industry on the heels of major funding investments for semiconductor manufacturing.
“We have a great opportunity here to get more jobs at the University of Albany with our tech semiconductor national center, which I'm fighting hard to get will mean 1,000 more jobs in addition to the 2,000 that are here already,” Schumer said. “They're going to need bus transit.”
In 2020, Schumer secured federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant Program, which funded 75 percent of the implementation of the Purple Line. 13.5 percent was funded by the state’s Department of Transportation and 11.5 percent by CDTA.
Schumer noted that parking along the route is limited, the cost of building garages is growing and plots for surface lots are scarce – which he says is a good thing, meaning there are fewer vacant buildings.
CDTA CEO Carm Basile says the authority has been visualizing the completion of the route for more than a decade. He says the 40-mile stretch of BRT service, which accounts for more than 60 percent of transit trips in the region, connects people in densely populated areas within the region.
“Fast and comfortable service not just for UAlbany students, but for students of St. Rose, and people who work in Albany, or in other places along the line,” Basile said.
Basile says new traffic light technology allows for lights to be timed and allows for changes in routes to better suit travelers’ needs if delays arise. He connects increased ridership with less congestion along major roadways.
Other recent improvements by CDTA to regional transportation include the installation of a roundabout at Crossgates Mall—one of CDTA’s busiest stops.
Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko of New York’s 20 District says investing in transportation is key to increasing economic development and creating a cleaner, greener environment.
“It will enable people to, in a very green conscious way, enable us in the Capital District to have that connectivity, which is so important to the economic recovery and growth of a region,” Tonko said.
The line runs fare free through November 19.
