Kingston officials vote to update Citibus policy
A service policy for Kingston’s Citibus transportation system will be changed slightly to comply with federal requirements.
A service policy for Kingston’s Citibus transportation system will be changed slightly to comply with Federal Transit Administration requirements.
During a meeting Tuesday, the Common Council voted 8-0 to authorize the change. There was no public discussion prior to the vote.
Alderman Steven Schabot, D-Ward 8, was absent.
The policy change involves fare increase and service reduction procedures for Citibus that had previously been adopted by the council. It adds the words “operated on any route” and “or more” to a sentence that states, “A ‘major’ service reduction is defined as a decrease in the total number of service hours operated on any route by 25 percent or more.”
The city has been working with the Federal Transit Administration to complete a June 2017 review of the Citibus system. The policy change adopted by the council was part of that process.
Reviews every three years are required because the federal transit agency provides the city with funding.
Deficiencies identified in the most recent review were part of a larger discussion regarding Ulster County taking over the Citibus system and merging it with Ulster County Area Transit.
So far, though, neither the Ulster County Legislature nor the Kingston Common Council has received any resolution needed for a vote on a possible merger.