Centro of Oneida Page
Centro of Oneida was formed by the Oneida
County Legislature to assume transit service in Oneida County, replacing the bankrupt
Utica Transit Authority on April 1st, 2005, and absorbing the City
of Rome VIP Public Transit system on October 1st, 2005. The two cities are in the same county and are
only fifteen minutes apart via the Utica-Rome Expressway, and the Centro takeover
has allowed connecting bus service for the first time. However, there is no service between Utica or
Rome and Syracuse as that is currently contracted to another bus company.
All photos are by the webmaster.
Utica
Transit Authority
The Utica area has a population of 65,000,
which unfortunately has been declining since 1950 when the city was home to
100,000 residents. Until March 31, 2005,
the Utica Transit Authority served the city and the surrounding villages of New
Hartford, Clinton, and Whitesboro, after which Centro of Oneida took over. The buses run on a twenty-minute schedule and
meet at the corner of Bleecker and Genesee Streets. The bus fleet consists of Orion V inherited
from the UTA, along with Orion VII and Gillig Advantage low-floor buses. The Orion V buses were rebuilt into
as-good-as-new condition and repainted into Centro’s wavy-stripe livery as they
re-entered service.
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581 was a 1996 Orion 05.502, spotted heading south on Genesee Street on Sept. 18, 2004. This bus was one of five Orion V buses purchased in 1996 and was not equipped with air conditioning. These buses had all been retired by 2009. |
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585 is a 1999 Orion V, seen on Bleecker Street on July 24, 2004. The UTA purchased twenty-three Orion V buses in 1999 and all were ordered with air conditioning. |
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589 is another 1999 Orion V, now painted in the Centro livery and spotted at the Centro garage in Syracuse on August 1st, 2011. |
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591 was spotted waiting to enter service on Genesee Street. This photo was taken on July 24, 2004. Utica buses have their wheelchair lifts at the rear door rather than at the front door like many other transit systems using the Orion V. |
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591 was seen again later in the day on July 24, 2004, when stopped at the Genesee/Bleecker Street transfer point. |
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592 was spotted at the Centro garage in Syracuse on August 1st, 2011. |
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594 is shown pulling away from the Genesee Street transfer point on July 24, 2004. |
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595 was spotted heading north on Genesee Street at Bleecker Street on Sept. 18, 2004. |
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598 is shown heading south on Genesee Street on Sept. 18, 2004. |
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599 is shown heading north at the Genesee Street at Bleecker Street on Sept. 18, 2004. |
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602 was spotted loading passengers on Genesee Street on July 24, 2004. This bus was the first to be rebuilt and repainted into the Centro paint scheme when the regional transit agency took over bus service in Utica. |
City of Rome
VIP Public Transit
The city of Rome was served by VIP Public Transit,
which operated a fleet of six buses running out of the Liberty-George parking
garage on an hourly schedule, six days a week.
The bus fleet consists of Orion V buses inherited from VIP, along with
an Orion VII low-floor bus, which is not surprising as one of Orion’s final
assembly plants is in the nearby village of Oriskany. On October 1st, 2005, Centro of
Oneida assumed transit service in Rome and the buses have since been renumbered
and repainted into the Centro livery.
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20 is a 1999 Orion 05.504, spotted on James Street turning onto Liberty Street on July 24, 2004. |
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20 was seen again at the Liberty-George bus terminal on July 24, 2004. |
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60 is another 1999 Orion V bus, shown loading passengers at the VIP Transit terminal on July 24, 2004. |
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80 is a 1999 Orion V, seen at the VIP Transit terminal on July 24, 2004. These Orion V buses replaced all the previous Orion I buses, although a 1995 Orion V bus is probably still in service. |
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100 is a 1999 Orion V bus, shown at the VIP Transit terminal in the Liberty-George parking garage on July 24, 2004. |
