CEO's Message

Bill Carpenter

Chief Executive Officer

RTS approached the current fiscal year with excitement, a plan to implement Reimagine RTS, and an enhanced focus on safety as we continue navigating the realities of COVID-19. The entire RTS team acted quickly and heroically to ensure the safety of our employees and customers. We ramped up our cleaning protocols, provided protective equipment to employees and customers, implemented policies to help keep everyone safe, and adjusted our TOPS metrics to align with our new reality.

Thanks to the guidance of the RGRTA Board of Commissioners and the dedication of the RTS team, we met our goals for the 2020-21 fiscal year and provided new examples of carrying out our mission when it mattered most. We partnered with the communities we serve to provide safe, sustainable mobility, and offer better access, frequency, and reliability. This included delivering protective equipment to non-profit organizations, food to people in need, and providing transportation to medical appointments and rapid testing sites. While COVID delayed some of our plans, it also provided an opportunity to reinforce the value of public transit and show how important it is to customers who make essential trips to medical facilities, grocery stores, and pharmacies.

The 2021-2024 RTS Comprehensive Strategic Plan – the document that guides our work for the current fiscal year – reflects our new reality, our continued focus on safety, and our work to ensure a successful launch of Reimagine RTS on May 17, 2021. The plan includes the details of our commitment to grow our culture through the RTS Way and the RTS Culture and Inclusion Council, our continued efforts to meet Governor Cuomo’s goal to have a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035, as well as the strategies and tactics we will enact to build on the success of recent years.

By implementing the initiatives in this plan, RTS will enhance the customer experience by bringing to life the community’s reimagined transit system. Our focus on financial sustainability will continue through cost containment efforts and a review of our long-term capital needs. We will ensure safe, quality service with the addition of 10 electric buses, a study to identify innovative mobility solutions for rural communities, and the continuation of COVID-related safety protocols based on guidance from national and state health experts. We will engage employees and strengthen our organization’s culture through continued focus on employee wellbeing and improved collaboration and communication. And we will continue investing in the infrastructure necessary to meet our zero-emission fleet goals.

The future of public transit begins this year and the RTS team is ready to help our customers understand and embrace it. On behalf of the entire team, I thank you for visiting our site and for working with us to reimagine public transit that is safe, frequent, reliable, and connected.