RTS Is Ending Monroe County On-Demand Bus Service — What Riders Need to Know Before 2027

RTS announced on November 4 that it is ending all Monroe County On Demand bus service in two phases by spring 2027, the latest in what advocates are calling a year of mounting RTS on demand service cuts across the Monroe County region. The flexible, app-based service let riders in suburban zones book trips without fixed stops — it's how people without cars reached medical appointments in Pittsford, early shifts in Webster, and community services in Irondequoit. The phase-out dates are firm, some replacement routes are coming, and advocates are pressing Albany with a specific ask and a budget deadline approaching.

What RTS On Demand Is Cutting and When

What RTS On Demand Is Cutting and When

The first phase ends service in the Brockport, Irondequoit, Pittsford, and Webster zones. The last day of On Demand in those areas is January 22, 2027. The second phase eliminates service in Greece, Henrietta, and the Lexington Avenue corridor, with April 2, 2027 as the final day.

Also ending before the Monroe County phases begin: the Newark/Lyons commuter route serving Wayne County, with its last day on December 31, 2026.

Riders in affected zones should contact RTS directly for details on what fixed-route coverage, if any, overlaps with their current On Demand trips.

The Numbers Behind the Decision — a $30 Million Budget Gap

The Numbers Behind the Decision — a $30 Million Budget Gap

RTS describes this as math. According to RBJ, On Demand accounted for 3 percent of RTS ridership but consumed 14 percent of the budget — a per-customer cost 6.5 times higher than fixed-route service. The agency faces a structural deficit of approximately $30 million, and the restructuring is designed to close it.

The disparity is stark in visual terms:

Reconnect Rochester notes that over the past three years, state and federal revenue has not kept pace with rising costs for bus equipment, labor, and operations. The deficit isn't a local management failure — it's a statewide funding problem that arrived in Monroe County through years of underfunding.

What Is Being Added — New Fixed Routes Starting April 5

What Is Being Added — New Fixed Routes Starting April 5

RTS has announced new fixed-route service launching April 5, 2027, in some of the areas losing On Demand coverage. The additions include an extended Route 97 Elmwood Commuter serving the Henrietta area, including the VA Clinic, Henrietta Community Center, and Henrietta Public Library. A new Lexington Avenue/Lee Road commuter route will serve major employers in that corridor, including L3Harris, Amazon, and LiDestri Foods. A new Greece route will connect the RTS Transit Center to residential areas and retail along Dewey Avenue.

These routes reach some of the people currently using On Demand. They don't reach all of them. Riders outside the new alignments — older adults, people with mobility constraints, anyone far from the new corridors — will face a coverage gap the restructuring doesn't close.

What Advocates Are Saying — This Needs Albany to Act

What Advocates Are Saying — This Needs Albany to Act

Reconnect Rochester calls the November 4 announcement the second round of transit cuts this year in Monroe County. Their case to Albany is specific: New York State has the opportunity in this budget cycle to dedicate revenue to upstate transit systems before the cuts deepen. That window is the state budget process, which begins in January — the same month the first On Demand phase-out takes effect.

Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, issued a statement alongside the RTS announcement. "RTS must expand fixed-route services and I urge my partners in state and federal government to push for increased public transit funding," Cooney said, "so that parents can get their children to doctor appointments, neighbors can get to work and older adults can access community resources."

Residents in Brockport, Irondequoit, Pittsford, and Webster — whose On Demand service ends first — can reach their state senator or assembly member now. The last On Demand trip in those zones runs January 22, 2027.