GOVERNOR: CENTRAL NEW YORK REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY RECEIVES EXCELLENCE AWARD

National Award Recognizes Central New York's High-Quality Transit System

Governor George E. Pataki today announced that the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CNYRTA) has received the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) "Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award" of 2006 for their superior performance in efficiency and effectiveness. The APTA is a national public transportation advocacy organization that works to ensure that public transportation is available and accessible for all Americans in communities across the nation. > "I want to congratulate the team at the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority for their commitment to providing Central New York residents with a high-quality transportation system," Governor Pataki said. "We look forward to building on this important recognition and continuing to help ensure that New Yorkers enjoy the safest and most efficient transportation system possible." The APTA award, which will be presented at the association's annual meeting in October, highlights transportation systems that provide between 4 million and 30 million passenger trips annually. Nominees are considered based on their performance in safety, operations, customer service, financial management, employee costs, minority and women advancement, marketing, policy and administration, and community relations. The award builds upon the CNYRTA's record of accomplishment, which includes receiving the U.S. Department of Transportation's United We Ride Leadership Award of 2005 for improving coordination between public and human service agency transportation, receiving the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Environmental Excellence Award of 2001 for air quality improvements, the successful transition of both the Utica Transit Authority and City of Rome's VIP Public Transit into Centro of Oneida subsidiaries, and being acknowledged by the State Comptroller for having model internal controls and financial operations. Over the past 11 years, State support for public transportation operating assistance has nearly doubled since 1995 to more than $2.5 billion annually, including the current fiscal year, with the CNYRTA receiving a significant increase in its Statewide Mass Public Transportation Operating Assistance, boosting aid from $7.3 million to $24.8 million - - an increase of more than $17.4 million. In the 2006 Executive Budget, the Governor proposed, and the legislature adopted, $24.8 million in State transit operating assistance for the CNYRTA this year, in recognition of the difficulties the Authority faced and the critical role it plays in the regional economy. In addition to this year's operating aid, funding from the Omnibus program, which assists in matching Federal aid, the Dedicated Fund Program, which provides money for certain qualified projects and the Rebuild and Renew New York Transportation Bond Act program for transit systems utilizing clean-fuel technologies will be made available to the CNYRTA to help it meet its capital investment needs. In February of this year, the Department of Transportation announced funding availability for the first several years of this Bond Act program. In total, CNYRTA has been allocated approximately $3.8 million through State Fiscal Year 2008-09. Department of Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Madison Jr. said, "Increasing the mobility of residents through a safe, reliable public transportation system goes a long way towards increasing a region's economic vitality. Coordinating the public transit system is a crucial responsibility that is accompanied by many challenges, but CNYRTA has proven to be a leader in keeping central New York's population on the move." Bond Act funding is being used to help transit systems bear the incremental cost associated with mainstreaming hybrid-electric and other alternative fuel bus technologies into public transportation fleets. These new technologies will help us build a cleaner environment and move us toward energy independence.

Established in 1970, the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority provides public transit services in Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties

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