Officials will cut ribbon on new public transportation facility on Wednesday
ALBION – A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday for the new transportation facility for RTS Orleans.
RTS is moving into a new 13,000-square-foot building behind the Orleans County Highway Department at 225 West Academy St.
Dignitaries planned to attend the event include State Assemblyman Steve Hawley; Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature; Geoff Astles, RGRTA Board Chairman; Henry Smith, Jr., RGRTA Commissioner from Orleans County; and Bill Carpenter, RTS CEO.
The new facility cost about $4 million. Federal aid funneled to the state is covering 80 percent or about $3.2 million of the cost, while the state pays 10 percent and RTS pays the other 10 percent, Bill Carpenter, CEO of RTS, said during a ground-breaking for the project in June 2017.
RTS has run a public transportation service in Orleans County since 2003. It has six buses in the county, and they have been parked outside by the County Highway Department on West Academy Street.
The new $4 million facility will allow the buses to be parked inside. The facility will be behind the County Highway Department, with RTS in a 50-year lease with the county for the land.
The facility will include eight indoor bus bays, three bus maintenance bays, a vehicle wash bay, storage for parts and materials, administrative office space, a break room with kitchenette, and designated parking.
