Free Transportation Between the University Hill and Downtown Expanded to Seven Days

Beginning Monday, Aug. 31, Syracuse residents and students will enjoy new bus service along the Connective Corridor that will link University Hill to downtown Syracuse and the Near Westside.

The new Corridor schedule consolidates the former Warehouse and Connective Corridor service routes, and follows a new route to extend bus service to South Campus, Manley Field House, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the new Syracuse Center of Excellence headquarters scheduled to open later this fall and portions of the Near Westside neighborhood.

The new service will be provided seven days a week free to the public: Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m.-3 a.m. and weekends from 8 a.m.-3 a.m.

The new bus schedule will have two main service lines: 1) Route No. 443, to offer weekday and after-hours express service from University Hill to The Warehouse in Armory Square; 2) Route No. 543 to extend service to the Civic Strip and the Near Westside neighborhood during weekday evenings and weekends.

The service will be the primary transportation route for students attending classes and events at Syracuse Stage and The Warehouse. Commuters will also have more opportunities to park and ride to various events and activities on the University Hill and downtown Syracuse, including a special Syracuse Symphony park-and-ride service. Free parking will be available after 5 p.m. in the South Lot at Manley Field House on East Colvin and Comstock avenues, with limited paid parking available during SU athletic events. Riders can also enjoy free on-street parking throughout the city after 6 p.m. and catch the bus at any marked Centro bus stops along the Corridor route.

“This new service is a response to community feedback to offer more options for riding the bus to venues along the Connective Corridor as well as to offer service beyond the weekend and extending it to cover seven days a week,” says Eric Persons, director of the Connective Corridor initiative, who worked alongside Centro and SU’s Parking and Transit Services to coordinate the new service.

New bus maps and schedules will be distributed across the city and University Hill at various locations, or can also be downloaded from the Internet at https://connectivecorridor.syr.edu/corridor-shuttle-bus/service-schedules/.  Highlights on the new service include:

Weekday schedule:

• Route #443 will run 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and after 11 p.m.
• Route #543 will run from 5-11 p.m.
• On weekday evenings, Route #543 will loop around the Near Westside neighborhood by going through Wyoming, Gifford, Oswego and West Fayette streets, stopping at Blodgett School and the nearby Seymour Dual Language Academy to facilitate transportation for the Say Yes to Education Program.

Weekend schedule:

• Route #543 will run from 9 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Route #443 will run once at 8 a.m., then from 11 p.m.-3 a.m.
• On weekends, Route #543 will only wrap around the Delevan Art Gallery, not the entire Near Westside neighborhood.

With the new service, former Corridor bus stops on University Place, Waverly Avenue and sections of East Genesee Street have been relocated, but destinations at those locations will still be served.