After Securing Over $105 Million For Rochester's Regional Transit Service In The Past Year, Schumer Announces Rts Will Not Only Keep All 900+ Employees On Board, But Also Add 46 New Positions; After Surge Of Schumer-Secured Federal Money, RTS Will Protect Exisiting Jobs And Create New Ones To Maintain Safety & Functionality Of Public Transit

Press Release

After securing $45.4 million in the American Rescue Plan, $23.5 million in the December stimulus bill, and $36 million in the CARES Act for Rochester's Regional Transit Service (RTS), U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that RTS will not only be keeping all of their 900+ employees on board, but they are also hiring 46 additional union positions, ensuring the continued reliability and accessibility of the region's transit system. Schumer said RTS was a pivotal tool in delivering meals and PPE to residents in need throughout the pandemic in addition to serving as a transportation lifeline for many residents and frontline workers, proving to be vital to the economic wellbeing of the region.

"Rochester Transit Service frontline workers stepped up throughout the pandemic, and I was proud to support them by delivering $105 million in federal pandemic relief aid to protect their jobs and their safety so that they could keep this vital transit system running," said Senator Schumer. "RTS commendably put this aid to good use to not only keep buses safe, timely, and operational, which is fundamental to the Rochester region's economy, but also mobilized to help deliver meals and PPE to those in need. I am proud to announce that 46 good-paying jobs will be added to the RTS workforce to continue the great work they are doing in the community and look forward to continuing my work with RTS to maximize its positive impact for its riders, workers, and the Rochester region."

"Thanks to Senator Schumer's leadership and support, the entire RTS team has continued providing safe, reliable mobility to our customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," said RTS CEO Bill Carpenter. "COVID-19 increased our expenses and reduced our revenues at a time when our customers needed us most. The funding we received from the federal government during the pandemic made it possible for us to maintain our service, keep our team intact, hire new team members to support the launch of Reimagine RTS, and ensure we are able to continue our efforts to keep our employees and customers safe. Thank you, Senator Schumer!"

Jacques Chapman, President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 282 said, "Creating these 46 new RTS jobs would not have been possible without the vital funding support Senator Schumer delivered for our frontline union workforce to keep them and their jobs safe throughout the pandemic. It enabled our members to keep Rochester's transit system running without interruption, while helping us invest in new workers to emerge from the pandemic stronger and better positioned to serve Rochester's transit users."

Schumer revealed that the 46 new positions will support RTS' upcoming "Reimagine RTS" system redesign that will start May 17th to modernize transit service in Monroe County to be frequent, reliable, connected, and safe with both fixed routes and new on-demand service. The new positions include part and full-time small vehicle operators, road supervisors, radio controllers, and customer service representatives.

Source