The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CNYRTA), commonly referred to as Centro, is an American New York State public benefit corporation and the operator of mass transit in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, Oneida, and Cortland counties in New York state. The CNYRTA was formed on August 1, 1970, along with similar agencies in Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo.
Centro won the American Public Transportation Association's 2006 "Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award" for bus companies serving 4 million to 30 million riders a year.
Organization Centro has a 9-member board of directors, including one non-voting member. Its CEO is Christopher Tuff. In 2017, Centro had operating expenses of $93.34 million, no outstanding debt, and a level of staffing of 738 people.
Subsidiaries
The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority is authorized by the State of New York to operate transit services in Cayuga, Cortland, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties.Public authorities law title Centro The below subsidiaries operate transit services in the counties that have opted-in to the transportation district.
CNY Centro
The biggest service subsidiary, CNY Centro, operates service in the city of Syracuse and suburban Onondaga County. Centro took over the assets and operations of the Syracuse Transit Corporation on January 17, 1972, and those of the suburban Syracuse & Eastern Transit Corp. in 1974. CNY Centro staff provide support and administrative functions; including marketing, procurement, route planning, human resources, training and safety for all sister subsidiaries.
Local, express, and commuter routes connect the area with Downtown Syracuse and Syracuse University.
Centro of Oswego
Routes are based in the City of Oswego. Service began on August 28, 1972. Centro assumed operation of the Oswego-Fulton-Syracuse intercity bus service from S&O Coach on June 21, 1993.
Routes generally travel east and west through the city, with connections to routes that travel to Fulton and Syracuse made in Downtown Oswego. Centro operates two student shuttle routes on the SUNY Oswego campus.
The neighboring communities of Fulton and Mexico are also provided with fixed route service.
Centro of Cayuga
Routes are based in the City of Auburn. Service began on April 2, 1973. Centro assumed operation of Auburn-Syracuse intercity bus service from Onondaga Coach on August 30, 1993.
Local bus routes are interlined in a continuous loop that makes a one-seat ride throughout the entire system and city possible.
Centro of Oneida
Centro of Oneida began operation on April 1, 2005 with the acquisition of the financially troubled Utica Transit Authority based in Utica. The UTA was a local agency that did not have the same ability to raise revenues as a public benefit corporation such as the CNYRTA. Merging the local county bus operations into the Centro system brought greater financial stability through savings in personnel and administrative costs. On October 1, 2005, Centro of Oneida assumed the operations of the VIP Transportation bus system in Rome. This merger of services has allowed for improved transit for citizens of Oneida County.
Even though, Oneida County public transit operations have been consolidated into one system, routes do not connect the cities of Rome and Utica. They also do not connect those cities to Onondaga, Cayuga, and Oswego Counties. Service between Utica, Rome and Syracuse is provided by the Krapf Group.
Call-A-Bus
Centro's Call-A-Bus service provides paratransit service under the criteria set forth under the ADA. Members of the riding public, with disabilities that makes travel by transit buses difficult, are able to request pre-planned travel through the Call-A-Bus program. Service is offered in all areas that have regular route service.
Centro Parking, Inc.
Centro Parking, Inc. is a subsidiary that leases land from the State of New York in Downtown Syracuse to sell monthly parking.2020 subsidiary report to the legislature Centro Centro Parking, Inc., has in the past, offered management of parking garages for local institutions like SUNY Upstate. Revenue that is generated from the parking lots contributes to the operational budget for transit services.
Bus routes
Centro operates thirty-six bus routes in Syracuse, eight bus routes in Oswego County, seven bus routes in Auburn, six bus routes in Rome, and eleven bus routes in Utica. In 2018, Centro had a ridership of 10.3 million trips, down from a 2008 high of 12.1 million trips.
In Syracuse and Utica, bus routes are numbered with a two digit base number. Short turn and variations of the base route are prefixed with an additional number to denote a different travel pattern. Bus routes in Oswego and Fulton use an alpha-numeric numbering scheme that suffixes the base route with a letter to denote a different travel pattern.
In each service area, routes operate in a spoke-hub model; focused on the downtown areas of cities served with routes extending to outlying neighborhoods and communities. This focus on downtown areas is the origin for the common name of Centro; the Spanish word for downtown. Buses arrive at the various hubs at fixed times throughout the day to allow for streamlined transfers. CNY Centro and Centro of Oswego operate campus shuttle routes for Syracuse University and SUNY Oswego, respectively.
CNY Centro operates various Community Extra routes, open to the public, that directly serve public, charter, and parochial high schools attended by students who reside within the Syracuse City School District.Syracuse schedules Centro High school students, that live 1.5 or more miles from their school, are provided with free travel to and from school on school days.
Special event service is operated by CNY Centro for sporting events at the Carrier Dome and Lakeview Amphitheater concerts. CNY Centro, Centro of Cayuga, and Centro of Oswego all operate extensive shuttle service to and from the New York State Fair. In recent years, with increased attendance at the State Fair, other Upstate New York transit agencies have provided buses and drivers to meet demand for parking lot shuttles.
Several Park-N-Rides are located throughout suburban Onondaga County that are served by CNY Centro bus routes.
Cortland County service started on March 31, 2025. This added seven routes into the network.
The Tables below show lists of Centro routes per operating area Source:
Cayuga County. RouteTerminalsMajor streets servedNotesAub 1Downtown Auburn Dill St/North St↔Auburn Fingerlakes MallW Genesee St Road, NYS Route 326 Directly Serves Cayuga County Offices, Auburn Towne Plaza, TOPS. Select weekday trips serve Cayuga County Unity House via Wright Av. Interlines to Route 2 in downtown and Route 4 at the mall on Weekdays. Interlines to Route 3 on Saturdays. No Sunday Service.Aub 2↔Auburn Walmart SupercenterFranklin Street, Steward Avenue Directly Serves Cayuga Community College, Auburn Plaza. Interlines to Route 3 at Walmart and Route 1 in downtown on Weekdays. Interlines to Route 4 on Saturdays. No Sunday Service.Aub 3↔North Street, McIntosh Dr Directly Serves Auburn Community Hospital. Interlines to Route 2 at Walmart and Route 4 at Walmart on Weekdays. Interlines to Route 1 on Saturdays. No Sunday Service.Aub 4↔Auburn Fingerlakes MallState Street, Clark Street, Division Street (select trips only) Directly Serves Brogan Manor. Select trips serve Auburn Technology Park and BOCES during Morning and Afternoon peak periods. AM School Trippers to Casey Park. Interlines to Route 1 at the mall and Route 3 in downtown on Weekdays. Interlines to Route 2 on Saturdays. No Sunday Service.Aub 6Auburn Northbrook Heights↔Auburn Wegmans Tuesday Only Shopper bus from Northbrook Heights Senior Center to Wegmans. Does not make intermediate stops.Aub 38Downtown Auburn Dill St/North St↔Syracuse Centro Transit Hub (Route 138)W Genesee St Road (US 20), Old Seneca Tpke, Howlett Hill Road (NY 175) Commuter Bus fare from Syracuse to Auburn only Regular Fares from Skaneateles to/from Syracuse/Auburn Route 138 Weekdays only to Syracuse Centro Hub and Syracuse University Limited Route 238 Weekends only service to Camillus Select 138 trips serve Auburn Correctional Facility and Auburn Towne Center↔Camillus Township 5 (Route 238)
Oneida County. There is no Sunday Service in Oneida County. RouteTerminalsMajor streets servedNotesRome 2Rome Centro Transit Hub
Liberty St and Washington St↔Rome Walmart SupercenterLiberty Street, Erie Blvd (NY 69) Interlines to Route 5 at the Hub.Rome 5↔Rome Black River BlvdJames Street, Black River Blvd Downtown loop surrounding Freedom Plaza. Interlines to Route 6 at the Hub.Rome 6↔Griffis Innovation ParkFloyd Avenue, Hill Road Directly serves MVCC Rome, Rome VA Hospital, Rome Free Academy, Griffis International Airport. Interlines to Route 2 at the Hub.Ut 11Utica Centro Transit Hub↔Whitesboro Main StreetWhitesboro Street, Main Street Directly Serves Adirondack Bank Center and Utica University Nexus Center. Half-Hour Intervals with Route 111 between Hub and Mathews Av.Ut 12↔Utica Human Technologies Corporation Bleecker Street Select trips serve Utica Union Station with Amtrak, Adirondack RR, and intercity bus connections.Ut 14↔New Hartford Consumer SquareMohawk Street, James Street, Burrstone Road Limited Morning and Afternoon service Service mainly provided weekday evenings and nights only. Directly serves MVCC, Utica University, Lenox Business Park. No Saturday service. Interlines with Route 111 at the HubUt 15↔Mohawk Valley Community College Utica CampusJames Street, Elm StreetUt 20↔Lenox Business ParkLenox Avenue, York Street, Burrstone Road Directly Serves Utica University. Interlines with Route 22 at the Hub.Ut 22↺Utica Armory Drive Outbound: South Street Inbound: Eagle Street Loop: Ontario Street One Way Loop. Interlines with Route 20 at the Hub.Ut 24↔The Orchard New Hartford Town Hall
(Route 124) All: Genesee Street 224: Oxford Road Route 124 Weekdays and Saturdays from the Hub to The Orchard. Interlines to Route 29 at the Hub Route 224 Hourly from the Hub to Sangertown Mall via Washington Mills weekdays only Outbound only) Route 24 one outbound AM Trip to Sangertown Mall Routes 124 and 224 Half Hourly Service on Genesee Street Weekdays Only Route 124 Weekday evenings and night service. 124 Directly Serves New Hartford Shopping Center and Sangertown Square Mall↔New Hartford Sangertown Square Mall
(Route 24, 224)Ut 28↔North Utica Herkimer RoadGenesee Street, Herkimer Road (NY 5) Outbound buses serve Riverside Center Walmart before heading east on Herkimer Road Inbound buses serve the Centro Garage Directly serves North Utica Shopping Center Interlines with Route 224 at the HubUt 29↔SUNY Polytechnic Institute All: Riverside Drive 29, 229: Genesee Street 129: Leland Av, Auert Av Early AM service between the Hub and Riverside Center only via Genesee Street as Route 29. Route 129 between Hub and SUNY Poly via Leland Avenue. Route 229 between Hub and SUNY Poly via Genesee Street, Weeknights only. All routes directly serve Riverside Center Route 129 directly serves Centro Garage and North Utica Shopping Center Interlines with Route 124 at the HubUt 30↔ClintonGenesee Street, Scene Tpke, NYS Route 12B Directly Serves New Hartford Shopping Center, Sangertown Square Mall, Hamilton College.Ut 31↔ChadwicksOneida Street Route 131 between Hub and Chadwicks. Route 31 select morning trips between the Hub and Higby Road. No early-afternoon service. Weekdays onlyUt 33↔Verona Turning Stone Resort CasinoOld River Road, Floyd Avenue, NYS Route 365 Utica-Rome Commuter Bus, special $3 fare 6 Trips a day, Mon-Sat. Directly Serves Marcy Correctional Facility, Walmart Distribution Center, MVCC Rome. Rome bus connections at the Rome Centro Transit Hub.Ut 111↔New Hartford