Centro of Oneida Page
Centro of Oneida was formed by the Oneida
County Legislature to assume transit service in Oneida County, replacing the
bankrupt Utica Transit Authority on April 1st, 2005, and absorbing
the City of Rome VIP Public Transit system on October 1st,
2005. The two cities are in the same
county and are only fifteen minutes apart via the Utica-Rome Expressway, and the
Centro takeover has allowed connecting bus service for the first time. However, there is no service between Utica or
Rome and Syracuse as that is currently contracted to another bus company.
All photos are by the webmaster.
Utica
Transit Authority
The Utica area has a population of 65,000,
which unfortunately has been declining since 1950 when was home to 100,000
residents. Until March 31, 2005, the
Utica Transit Authority served the city and the surrounding villages of New
Hartford, Clinton, and Whitesboro, after which Centro of Oneida took over. The buses run on a twenty-minute schedule and
meet at the corner of Bleecker and Genesee Streets. The bus fleet consisted entirely of Orion
buses, currently being replaced by low-floor buses or being rebuilt to
as-good-as-new condition and repainted into Centro’s wavy-stripe livery as they
re-enter service.
|
|
581 is a 1996 Orion 05.502, spotted heading south on Genesee Street on Sept. 18, 2004. This bus was one of five Orion V buses purchased in 1996 and is not equipped with air conditioning. |
|
|
585 is a 1999 Orion V, seen on Bleecker Street on July 24, 2004. The UTA purchased twenty-three Orion V buses in 1999 and all were ordered with air conditioning. |
|
|
591 is another 1999 Orion V, spotted waiting to enter service on Genesee Street. This photo was taken on July 24, 2004. Utica buses have their wheelchair lifts at the rear door rather than at the front door like many other transit systems using the Orion V. |
|
|
591 was seen again later in the day on July 24, 2004, when stopped at the Genesee/Bleecker Street transfer point. |
|
|
594 is shown pulling away from the Genesee Street transfer point on July 24, 2004. |
|
|
595 was spotted heading north on Genesee Street at Bleecker Street on Sept. 18, 2004. |
|
|
598 is shown heading south on Genesee Street on Sept. 18, 2004. |
|
|
599 is shown heading north at the Genesee Street at Bleecker Street on Sept. 18, 2004. |
|
|
602 was spotted loading passengers on Genesee Street on July 24, 2004. This bus was the first to be rebuilt and repainted into the Centro paint scheme when the regional transit agency took over bus service in Utica. |
City of Rome
VIP Public Transit
The city of Rome was served by VIP Public
Transit, which operated a fleet of six buses running out of the Liberty-George
parking garage on an hourly schedule, six days a week. The bus fleet consists entirely of Orion V
buses, which is not surprising as one of Orion’s final assembly plants is in
the nearby village of Oriskany. On
October 1st, 2005, Centro of Oneida assumed transit service in Rome
and the buses have since been renumbered and repainted into the Centro livery.
|
|
20 is a 1999 Orion 05.504, spotted on James Street turning onto Liberty Street on July 24, 2004. |
|
|
20 was seen again at the Liberty-George bus terminal on July 24, 2004. |
|
|
60 is another 1999 Orion V bus, shown loading passengers at the VIP Transit terminal on July 24, 2004. |
|
|
80 is a 1999 Orion V, seen at the VIP Transit terminal on July 24, 2004. These Orion V buses replaced all the previous Orion I buses, although a 1995 Orion V bus is probably still in service. |
|
|
100 is a 1999 Orion V bus, shown at the VIP Transit terminal in the Liberty-George parking garage on July 24, 2004. |
