Ceretto troubled by closing of NFTA-Metro route, urges community input on decision

Assemblyman John Ceretto issued a statement Monday on Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority's decision to close Route 55, running between the Portage Road Transit Center and Niagara County Community College and BOCES.

"My major concern is that no public hearing was held on this issue and no other options for community input are being made available," he said. "Riders ought to be given the opportunity to voice their concerns, share ideas and ask questions to NFTA officials before a decision is made to close this route."

Ceretto recently sent a letter to NFTA asking for a more extensive review of the data that showed only 28 people used the route between BOCES and Lockport during the last quarter of 2014.

"This route is the only connection between the two largest cities in Niagara County, what typically takes 20 minutes to drive will now take over 205 minutes by bus if this route is cancelled," Ceretto said. "I think NFTA owes it to the commuters on Route 55 to conduct a more extensive review that includes non-winter ridership before any decisions are made."

Ceretto also noted the NFTA has received more than $8 million in increased funding within the past two years.