New York State has a lot of transit agencies. Each of the major urban regions in Upstate NY has a separate transit authority. Many of the smaller “rural” cities have their agencies. It makes it confusing for riders, leads to wasteful overhead and leaves the systems disconnected from one and another.

While it’s unlikely New York State will ever have a single transit system, like New Jersey Transit, it does make a lot of sense for agencies like CDTA to expand out and absorb as many of the smaller systems nearby. It allows sharing of employees and equipment. It puts all the bus schedules in one place, sets a common fare that allows only one fare card to be used. Massachusetts, for example allows you to use the Boston MTA fare card on any public transit system in the state. So if your from Boston and visiting Pittsfield and want to hop a bus to get around town, you can pull out your MTA Card.

I like the idea of being able to hop on a bus in Glens Falls or even Lake George during the busy summer season, as an alternative to driving with my CDTA Swiper card, having consistent fares and schedules like the rest of the CDTA system that now spans from Amsterdam – Albany – Schenectady – Troy – Schenectady. Adding Glens Falls to system would also likely strengthen the link between Glens Falls and Saratoga, further allowing bus-dependent residents and even casual commuters a better way to get around.