FTA Cool Toward Buffalo Light Rail Expansion

The Federal Transit Administration is opposing a proposal to expand the light rail system in Buffalo, New York.

FTA planners have suggested that Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority use buses instead of rail to extend the system north to Amherst, Cheektowaga, and the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

The existing light rail line opened in 1964 and local officials during the 1970s made plans to expand it. However, most of those expansion plans have yet to occur due to lack of funding.

Buffalo transit officials have said the northward extension would serve some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods and give residents there a one seat ride to downtown.

Tags: Buffalo New York, Buffalo public transit, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, Public transit