Buffalo Metro Rail - Plans For Expansion

Plans For Expansion

There are no viable plans to expand the system. Some downtown business groups occasionally call for the removal of the transit system so that they can return to normal vehicle traffic and curbside parking, hoping that this measure might recreate the prosperous days of the past. However, in early 2012, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced the city would be developing a plan to return cars to the 500 block of Main Street.

Without extended branches in the suburbs, the truncated system serves 23,000 passengers daily. As a useful transportation asset, Buffalo Metro Rail is ranked 19th in the nation in light rail daily ridership service.

One group, the Citizens Regional Transit Corporation (CRTC), advocates for expansion. As indicated in their statement, the CRTC seeks to educate the public, public officials, their authorities and agencies in the Buffalo-Niagara region about the benefits of a comprehensive transportation system including an expanded Metro Rail.

In April 2011, the group stated that the six hundred block of Main Street, which has the tenant Shea's Performing Arts Center, along with hotels and bars, should be converted into a mixed automobile and rail system, such as the ones in San Francisco and Toronto. Many public officials have brought in criticism of the project, and the CRTC has expressed concern as well.