Rochester Business Journal Leading source of business news and information in Rochester, N.Y.
One of the key factors to the vibrancy of any city is how fast and easy it is for residents and visitors to travel in and around it. Indeed, one of the major positives cited in any quality-of-life assessment of Rochester is that it has less onerous commutes than most cities.
A couple of recent developments will make it even easier for many people to move around the Rochester region.
The first is the availability of ride hailing services here. After a lengthy lobbying and negotiation process, Uber and Lyft will finally be allowed to operate in Rochester and other upstate cities starting Thursday.
These services will make traveling easier for people in a variety of segments: tourists, business visitors, the elderly, people who don’t own cars, etc.
Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo and the Monroe County Airport Authority announced Wednesday that Lyft has an agreement to begin operating at the Greater Rochester International Airport.
“From curbside to cabin we are creating a better passenger experience at ROC, and we are happy to be able to offer this additional ground transportation option,” Dinolfo said.
Being able to quickly and easily get to and from the airport is crucial to making Rochester friendly to tourists and out-of-town business people.
Also Wednesday, Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority announced a partnership with Monroe Community College to allow MCC’s students, faculty and staff to ride for free starting this fall. RTS also added a route between the downtown transit center and MCC’s downtown campus.
“Thanks to the partnership we’ve cemented with RTS, our students will be able to move quickly, safely and freely to and between our campuses,” MCC President Anne Kress said.
Making it easier and cheaper to travel to MCC’s campuses will improve access to post-secondary education for thousands of Rochesterians.
Improved access to public transportation for students and the availability of ride hailing services are two ways Rochester is becoming more navigable, which can only help the community at large.
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