Public transportation in a town defined by its colleges should accommodate not only the community members, but also—and perhaps more importantly—the students themselves. For those without cars at Rensselaer, the public buses open the Capital District up for exploration—if they are willing to wait an hour or so to get to their destination. Aside from the Capital District Transportation Authority’s attempt at getting us from point “A” to point “B,” there is always the option of walking to the other end of the world (Wal-Mart Plaza) or tagging along with a friend who has a car. Since no one wants to walk anywhere in the barren Troy winters, and your chauffer is not always going to be around, CDTA is the best (of the worst) option.
So what is this CDTA thing all about? If you haven’t figured it out by now, the CDTA is the region’s public bus system that runs to all key locations like Wal-Mart, downtown Troy, Crossgates Mall, etc. However, if you ask those who have traveled CDTA-style, they will tell horror stories of getting on the bus on the wrong side of the road, of spending over an hour on a bus to buy that new video game at Crossgates, or of having to change buses three times just to get back home. These are all serious problems, especially for a transportation service. But how do these problems arise, and what can be done to fix them?
First, the students here need to be more informed about the services CDTA offers and what time the buses can be expected. It is also crucial that people realize the difference in direction—that is to say, which way the bus is headed. If you get on the Wal-Mart shuttle in front of the Union will you head the same direction as if you boarded in front of the Quad? Of course not—you may head directly downtown, without passing Go, and without spending $200. So make sure you wait for the bus in front of the Quad, unless you want to detour back through the entire route. Also, there are many different bus numbers, and only a few of them specifically say, “This bus will bring you to [insert destination here].” Bus route 87 goes between River Street downtown and Wal-Mart Plaza, but it is called the Sycaway-Beman Park route. Route 90 brings students to Crossgates Mall and UAlbany, yet is referred to as the Troy-Latham-Crossgates route. Oh, and you have to wait at the Houston Field House for that one.
Aside from just getting correction information out to the students, the CDTA needs to work on safety issues that arise later at night. Fewer bus routes are active the later it gets, or if it is a weekday as opposed to the weekend. It may be possible to take a direct route on the way there, but you may need to change buses a couple times on the way back. This could mean a layover of sorts at the bus station on South Pearl Street in Albany; if you’ve never been there, you aren’t missing out. This is not an area you want to be in at night, especially not alone or even with a friend.
For being a major source of transportation in Troy and surrounding college areas, the CDTA has its work cut out to start appealing more to the students. Though some information on bus routes and times is available around campus, http://www.cdta.org/ has all services offered with the most up-to-date schedules. As far as safety concerns, it should be common sense not to drop people off in dark, dangerous places. So remember RPI community, bring your ID for a free ride, some snacks while you wait, and some pepper spray just in case.
