The Capital District Transportation Authority runs five bus routes in and around Saratoga Springs, as well as additional trolley service during the busy summer months when the Saratoga Race Course is in operation.
Of those routes, the 451 and 452 run exclusively within Saratoga Springs, connecting the outer suburbs to the downtown core.
CDTA announced in October that it will suspend those routes by the end of November in favor of CDTA FLEX, an on-demand service riders can order for the same cost as standard bus fare.
CDTA CEO Frank Annicaro said riders will be able to order FLEX service through an app or by phone, with the goal of keeping wait times under 30 minutes.
“These two routes, the 451 and 452, have struggled for ridership despite our efforts to restructure them several times,” Annicaro said. “Utilizing microtransit here is really made to order. The benefit of FLEX is we’re going to maintain current stops that the 451 and 452 offer, and we’re going to add additional stops throughout the zone.”
CDTA said the 451 and 452 have fewer than 100 combined daily riders in a city of 30,000.
Luis Panagi, a retired city resident who takes the bus downtown daily, has been speaking out on behalf of locals who rely on regular bus service to get to work or doctors’ appointments. He said the proposed changes won’t adequately meet their needs.
“I know that public transportation has not been a thing in America forever except in certain major cities,” Panagi said. “But if we really want to give more opportunities to people who need to work, if we want to take people out of poverty, we cannot expect that every one of them can buy a car on the first day they go to work. So public transportation is needed.”
Panagi said he would like to see the 451 and 452 routes remain in operation through the holiday season and winter months, and for CDTA to meet directly with riders before making changes.
Skidmore College students, faculty and staff can ride CDTA buses from campus into town for free.
While regular service from campus to downtown will continue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, some students have expressed concern that CDTA will no longer provide service to the Wilton Mall, where many work and shop.
Skidmore said it will continue to subsidize CDTA rides for students, faculty and staff regardless of the service changes, and that it is working directly with CDTA leadership ahead of the transition.
Republican Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford, who was reelected to a second term in November, said he’s been working with CDTA to hold training sessions to help riders adjust to the new FLEX system.
“It’s like an Uber app,” Safford said. “If someone is familiar with that, you just order it and it will pick you up for $1.50 and take you to another point. You’re not going to have to come downtown and swap to the 452 or back to the 451. It’s point to point. It’s just going to be so much better once people learn how to use it, and in fact, I think it’s going to increase ridership dramatically.”
