History

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) was created in 1970 by the New York State Legislature, as a public benefit corporation, to provide regional transportation services by rail, bus, water and air. Today’s CDTA is the premier mobility provider in the Capital Region, providing regular route bus service, shuttle systems and paratransit services. CDTA subsidiaries own and operate the Rensselaer Rail and Saratoga Springs Train Stations. CDTA also operates the Northway (NX) Xpress Commuter Service between Saratoga County and downtown Albany.

Today, 640 people work at CDTA to deliver a transit system that serves more than 800,000 people who live and work in the region, transporting more than 55,000 customers each weekday.

CAPITAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY HISTORY & HIGHLIGHTS

08/01/1970

New York State Legislature creates the Capital District Transportation Authority

08/16/1971

Assume responsibility for routes operated by Albany-Nassau Bus Company

10/03/1971

Acquire the assets of Schenectady Transit System from Schenectady County

08/14/1972

Acquire the assets of United Traction Company.

09/05/1972

Assume local services of the Troy-Fifth Avenue Bus Company

09/20/1973

Dedicate Schenectady Bus Facility

01/18/1974

Consolidate Quail Street & Watervliet Avenue Operations

04/12/1976

Begin regular route service in Saratoga

04/01/1980

Base fare increases from 40 cents to 50 cents

08/01/1980

CDTA celebrates 10th Anniversary

02/28/1981

Dedicate Troy Bus Facility

07/05/1982

STAR service begins in Albany

10/02/1982

STAR service begins in Troy & Schenectady

12/13/1982

30’ Orion buses debut in Saratoga

03/04/1984

Full-size Orion buses put into service

03/05/1984

Initiate half-fare program for people who are unemployed

04/16/1984

Crown-Ikarus articulated buses put into service

04/01/1985

Base fare increases from 50 cents to 60 cents

01/27/1986

Jointly subsided service to Corporate Woods begins (Picotte Companies)

12/22/1987

Downtown Albany staging area opens

01/25/1988

Jointly subsided service to Wolf Road begins (Wolf Road Business Association)

06/27/1988

Lift-equipped buses debut in service

02/16/1989

Illustrated Transit Guide is unveiled

07/05/1989

Defreestville Park & Ride lot opens

06/04/1990

Base fare increases from 60 cents to 75 cents

08/01/1990

CDTA celebrates 20th Anniversary

11/04/1990

Refurbished Albany facility opens

11/15/1990

Elm Avenue Park & Ride lot opens

02/05/1992

Clean Air buses debut

08/10/1992

Electronic fare-boxes installed on all buses

01/01/1993

STAR fares reduced from $2.00 to $1.50

02/27/1993

Tobacco advertisements banned on CDTA buses

09/07/1993

Latham Farms Transit Center opens

09/28/1993

SAFEWATCH program begins

04/06/1994

SWIPER pass introduced

11/21/1994

Crossgates Mall Transit Center opens

12/05/1994

Accessible buses debut in Saratoga

04/03/1995

Base fare increases from 75 cents to $1.00

08/26/1995

College service arrangements begin with Rensselaer and UAlbany

01/26/1996

Low floor buses introduced

05/05/1996

Zone and half-fare policies modified and simplified

05/10/1996

ShuttleBug service begins along Washington Avenue Extension

11/13/1997

Web Site opens at www.cdta.org

12/22/1997

Northway Exit 8 Park & Ride opens

03/31/1998

Lark/ & Washington transit center opens

05/15/1998

ShuttleBee service begins along Route 4

07/14/1998

ShuttleFly service begins along Wolf Road

09/01/1998

Access Transit, Inc. opens

06/02/1999

Ground is broken for new Rensselaer Rail Station

10/15/1999

Catch a Better Bus service improvements implemented

06/18/1999

NABI buses go into service

07/21/1999

NOVA buses go into service

08/01/2000

CDTA celebrates 30th Anniversary

09/14/2000

Bike Racks installed on buses

10/22/2001

Parking Garage opens at Rensselaer Rail Station

09/22/2002

Rensselaer Rail Station Opens for Business

06/16/2003

CDTA introduces the first queue jumper in upstate New York

11/25/2003

U.S. Post Office opens in Rensselaer Rail Station

03/15/2004

Saratoga Springs Train Station Opens

05/23/2004

Regular route bus service to Glenmont begins (Route 7)

08/07/2006

Installation of bike racks completed on all regular route buses

09/07/2006

Project Empire launched in partnership with Amalgamated Transit Union

01/01/2007

iRide Branding Campaign Introduced

03/28/2007

New System Map and Transit Guide

04/26/2007

New Gillig buses

06/18/2007

First hybrid-electric bus introduced for service (made by Gillig)

07/02/2007

Redesigned and expanded Saratoga service begins

10/01/2007

10-trip debit card introduced

11/01/2007

Sale of tokens is discontinued

12/18/2007

Entire bus fleet is converted to biodiesel fuel blend to improve emissions

02/01/2008

On- line Trip Planner introduced at www.cdta.org

10/04/2008

Google Transit trip planner introduced at www.cdta.org

04/01/2009

Base fare increases from $1.00 to $1.50

05/23/2010

New Schenectady neighborhood service begins operation

04/03/2011

BRT service (BusPlus) begins operation on Route 5

11/13/2011

New Albany Route Network begins operation (Phase 1)

10/01/2012

NX Service and Fares modified and reintroduced

11/11/2012

New Albany Route Network begins operation (Phase 2)

10/01/2013

Plans for 40 miles of Bus Rapid Transit Announced

03/31/2014

Record Annual ridership count of 16.5 million

10/29/2014

Realtime information rollout

02/02/2015

Navigator Launch

03/31/2015

Record Annual Ridership count of 17.0 million

03/31/2016

Record Annual Ridership for the third year with a count of 17,106,322 million

05/28/2016

Redesigned Saratoga County services begin operation

08/12/2016

CDTA approved as regional clearinghouse for taxi services

01/12/2017

Navigator smartcard prepayment system introduced

07/27/2017

CDPHP Cycle! bike-share program

08/15/2017

CDTA named 2017 Mid-Size Transit System of the Year

09/27/2018

David Stackrow elected Chairman of APTA Board of Directors

04/30/2019

 Jayme B. Lahut named CDTA’s Chairman of the Board

01/10/2020

Roll out of first battery electric powered buses in upstate NY