Local bus riders and activists this week faced off with county officials over the sudden changes announced last week to the routes and key hub of Ulster County's free public bus service, Ulster County Area Transit (UCAT).

It is hard to imagine a better location for a transit hub than a centrally located plaza with room to accommodate bus traffic that happens to host the city’s largest supermarket, alongside a pharmacy, gym, auto parts store, hardware store, assorted moderately-priced restaurants, a liquor store and a dispensary.

That's what the local powers thought when they made Kingston Plaza UCAT's key nexus, which they did some years ago.

Unfortunately for the riding public, Ulster County Area Transit (UCAT) on July 30 was given the boot by the plaza's owners, the Herzog Supply Company, as is their right under the handshake agreement that allows the county's use of the plaza. The county will have to vamoose by Sept. 15, when the system's new key hub re-locates more than two miles away to the county complex at Development Court off Ulster Avenue in the Town of Ulster.

How come? No doubt the hub boosts the plaza's commercial activity, but alleged behavioral issues have dampened the company’s enthusiasm for hosting it.

As UCAT chief Toni Roser put it to the members of the Ulster County Transit Riders and Intermodal Advisory Committee (TRIAC), “What we're trying to do is make it a place where people are not basically hanging out. I mean everybody has seen it. So, the people that need to shop there will go there, the people that are hanging out to visit their friends will probably be deterred from doing that, or get there on their own or have to transfer from the development court to get there.”

TRIAC is made up of 13 members appointed by the county legislature – one lawmaker, seven people who regularly use public transit, four activists or philanthropists and a nonvoting representative from UCAT.

Phil Erner who, in 2023 as a county legislator co-sponsored the legislation creating the committee and is credited with making UCAT's service free for all riders, was on hand to give a hard assessment of the new plan.

“If we think we can keep consuming all these resources and driving all these personal cars around which are killing so many of our residents and so many people abroad, we've got another thing coming,” Erner said. “We have to treat the transit system like a necessity that has to be expanded, greatly expanded, so that everybody in Ulster County can use it to go wherever you need to go.”

Concern over the changes is not just limited to Kingston. Ellenville resident Gladys Toscano spoke of the UCAT changes' effect on local seniors. “We have people of varying degrees of disabilities with wheelchairs and walkers and the blind, and this is going to cause an enormous struggle for people ... You're going to devastate this community.”

“I think that this situation is showing some elemental problems that UCAT suffers from and has been long suffering from,” said Kingston resident Tanya Garment, an administrator of Facebook group Riders of Ulster Transit Alliance (RUTA).

Garment questioned how the new route design fits with the county's UCAT Route Optimization Plan, a work in progress. “I don't think any of these changes should be going forward independent of the route optimization plan," Garment said. "Surely there can be a solution found where we don't have to throw the whole system in upheaval. And I also hope that this situation is going to highlight that maybe the optimization plan is not addressing enough. One of them, the driver shortage, was not going to be part of the optimization plan. How do we address that? It needs to be a larger process, a larger scope than it hasn't taken.”

Transfer rates were another point of disagreement. Critics argued that transfers are utilized by only a fraction of riders and that choice of route termination placement is more critical to system utility. Roser disputed that but, as it turns out, UCAT keeps no stats on transfer rates.

TRIAC's members have proposed a few alternatives to the Kingston Plaza for the county's consideration. Rather than Development Court, the committee would have all the buses that used to stop at Kingston Plaza stop instead at Westbrook Lane and Clinton Avenue, or Fair Street and Schwenk Drive.

“These locations,” they say, “would maintain essential access for riders and help support continuity of service following the loss of the Kingston Plaza hub.”

They’d also like to see an “official flag system” within the city, letting buses pick up and drop off riders “along any route within the city,” and the designation of spots where at least three bus routes pass as official stops.

TRIAC emphasized that the loss of the Kingston Plaza hub “could create significant hardship for UCAT riders, who statistically represent some of Ulster County’s most vulnerable residents.”

UCAT's Roser took issue with the points about driver hiring and retention, but, overall, she and Deputy County Executive Amanda Lavalle suffered the evening's flak with some grace, repeatedly attempting to assuage the critics.

“We'd like to respond to the proposal by the group, to spend a little bit more time with it, and maybe ask some additional clarifying questions if needed,” Lavalle said of TRIAC’s alternative plan. “We'll use this group as well for schedules when updates are made to participate.”

Finally, she noted, “There will be a presentation to the legislature's Housing and Transportation next Thursday, to share that information.”

UPDATE: On Thursday, Kingston Wire received news of the following changes to UCAT operations:

Stops at Tops and Healthyway

Service to these locations from Ellenville has been scheduled during peak hours, as our ridership data and driver feedback show that the majority of passenger demand occurs during these times.

Requesting a Return Trip

If a passenger is dropped off at either Tops or Healthyway, they may request that the driver pick them up on the way back, or they can provide the driver with a specific time for their return. The driver will then notify dispatch to ensure that the pickup is arranged. (They can also call dispatch.)

On-Board Requests Between Kingston and Ellenville

While traveling between Kingston and Ellenville, a passenger may alert the driver that they would like to get off at these stops. To confirm the request, passengers must use the pull cord as the bus approaches the stop. This serves as a reminder for the driver to make the requested stop.

Requests When Not Already on the Bus

If someone wishes to request a pickup or drop-off at Tops or Healthyway but is not already on board, they may call our dispatch line directly, and our staff will assist in scheduling the stop.