City of Kingston Bus Service Merges With Ulster County on July 1 Kingston, NY

Photo by Clark Richters

Bus Service Will Be Free For Six Months

KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steve Noble and Ulster County Area Transit would like to remind City of Kingston bus riders that service changes go into effect on Monday, July 1, 2019. UCAT will now be operating modified CitiBus routes. All City of Kingston bus service on the Red, Blue and Yellow (formerly the A, B and C) routes will be free of charge to passengers until the end of the year.

“The merger of the City and County bus systems will include so many benefits for Kingston bus riders,” said Mayor Steve Noble. “Improvements include shorter ride time to your destination, more frequent service, flagged pick-up between stops, and free wi-fi on the buses. The updated routes were thoughtfully designed to service more residents in low-income areas, and to better serve seniors and those with disabilities. All of these are positive changes, and ridership will be free for the first six months.”

The new routes were developed using extensive ridership data including on-bus ridership counts and widely-distributed surveys. The goals of the merger are to provide service to all major destinations in the City of Kingston and critical points beyond; reduce travel time between locations; utilize new hubs to make connections with existing UCAT service smoother; and to provide service to low-ridership and remote areas of the City not previously reached. UCAT’s carefully considered new transit routes provide connectivity to key residential locations, commercial corridors and public services within the City while reducing overlap on existing CitiBus and UCAT routes. To supplement the new transit service in low ridership areas, Demand Response zones have been established. Demand Response service will bring riders outside the immediate transit coverage area to a transfer hub in order to connect with regular bus routes. Users may request the Demand Response service 1 hour or more in advance and must be pre-approved based on address.

Riders can download the UCAT app (available at Google Play and Apple iTunes) which provides real-time location of the buses, estimated arrival times, arrival notifications, route maps and schedules.

Route info:

The Weekday Red route runs from the Kingston Plaza to the Golden Hill Complexes and on to the Law Enforcement Center via Clinton and Greenkill Avenues, and the Boulevard, and return via Wall St., N. Front St. and Frog Alley and Schwenk Dr. Trailways connection is available at Frog Alley. The route has an estimated travel time of 15 minutes each way.

The Weekday Blue route starting at the Kingston Plaza provides service along Broadway. This route makes stops at key areas including Benedictine Hospital, SUNY Ulster Satellite Campus, Yosman Towers, Wurts/Spring Streets, Garraghan Drive, Rondout Gardens, and reverses back to the Plaza. This route is estimated to have a travel time of 15 minutes each way.

The Weekday Yellow route runs southeast servicing the Department of Social Services, Colonial Gardens, Stuyvesant Charter apartments, Kingston Hospital to Port Ewen with the turnaround at the PE Birches Complex. The route will also offer connection to the Blue line on Jensen Ave. This route is estimated to have a travel time of 20 minutes each way.

The Saturday Routes will be provided by two buses and offer alternating services between the Red and Blue routes. The Yellow route will alternate service between the mall area and Kingston Point Park.

Schedules and routes can also be found at UCAT’s website: https://ulstercountyny.gov/ucat/bus-schedules

All UCAT buses are wheelchair equipped and have bicycle racks. Dispatch is available to answer questions during regular bus service hours (4:45am -11:00pm) at 845-334-8458.


More information about how to make a Demand Response reservation, Paratransit eligibility, UCAT connecting routes, holiday schedules and more, can be found at:https://ulstercountyny.gov/ucat/ulster-county-area-transit