The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The NFTA, as an authority, oversees a number of subsidiaries, including the NFTA Metro bus and rail system, the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, the Niagara Falls International Airport and NFTA Small Boat Harbor. The NFTA Metro bus and rail system is a multi-modal agency, utilizing various vehicle modes, using the brand names: NFTA Metro Bus, NFTA Metro Rail, NFTA Metrolink and NFTA PAL. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 14,061,700 or about 54,000 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023. In addition, the NFTA also owns and manages a number of properties, including the Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center in Downtown Buffalo ; the Niagara Falls Transportation Center on Factory Outlet Boulevard; the Portage Road Transit Center in Niagara Falls; and a number of strategically located bus loops and transit centers in the Buffalo Niagara region. Of note, many of the bus loops have been in continuous operation since the days of the International Railway Company, a predecessor to the NFTA. Agency-wide, the NFTA employs 1,500 full-time and part-time employees. There are three business centers that operate as the NFTA organization: Surface Transportation, which handles ground transportation throughout Erie and Niagara counties, Aviation, which handles air related business at the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport and Niagara Falls International Airport and Property Risk/Management, which operates the NFTA-Boat Harbor and handles other properties that are owned and/or operated by the NFTA.
Buffalo Metro Rail is the public transit rail system in Buffalo, New York, operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). The system consists of a single, 6.4-mile-long (10.3 km) light rail line that runs for most of the length of Main Street from KeyBank Center in Canalside to the south campus of the University at Buffalo in the northeast corner of the city. The first section of the line opened in October 1984; the current system was completed in November 1986. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 2,386,400, or about 8,200 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.
Buffalo Central Terminal is a historic former railroad station in Buffalo, New York. An active station from 1929 to 1979, the 17-story Art Deco style station was designed by architects Fellheimer & Wagner for the New York Central Railroad. The Central Terminal is located in the city of Buffalo's Broadway/Fillmore district. Abandoned since 1979, the terminal is now being restored for use as a Civic Commons.
The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, formerly known as The Buffalo Naval and Servicemen's Park, is a museum on the bank of the Buffalo River in Buffalo, New York. It is home to several decommissioned US Naval vessels, including the Cleveland-class cruiser USS Little Rock, the Fletcher-class destroyer USS The Sullivans, and the submarine USS Croaker. All three are open to the public for tours.
Seneca is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located in the 200 block of Main Street between Seneca and Swan Streets in the Free Fare Zone, which allows passengers free travel between Erie Canal Harbor and Fountain Plaza station. Passengers continuing northbound past Fountain Plaza are required to provide proof-of-payment. On June 27, 2019, The Buffalo News announced that Merchants Insurance, which has been located at 260 Main Street since the 1960s, bought the naming rights for $161,000 for initially five years, with the option to renew for another five years.
Church is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located in the 300 block of Main Street in the Free Fare Zone, which allows passengers free travel between Erie Canal Harbor and Fountain Plaza. Passengers continuing northbound past Fountain Plaza are required to have proof-of-payment. Church is the closest to the Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center, located two blocks east at Ellicott and North Division Streets.
Special Events is the southernmost station in the Buffalo Metro Rail system located at the corner of Main and Perry Streets in the Free Fare Zone, which allows passengers free travel between this station and Fountain Plaza station. Passengers continuing northbound past Fountain Plaza are required to have proof-of-payment. Special Events station is located next to the KeyBank Center, which it serves immediately before and after an event. If there is no event at KeyBank Center, Erie Canal Harbor station serves as the southern terminus. The tracks continue to the NFTA Rail Maintenance Yard.
Lafayette Square is a Buffalo Metro Rail station near City Hall and is near the center of the Buffalo Central Business District at Lafayette Square located in the 400 block of Main Street in the Free Fare Zone, which allows passengers free travel between Erie Canal Harbor station and Fountain Plaza station. Passengers continuing northbound past Fountain Plaza are required to have proof-of-payment. Lafayette Square station is the closest to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, located one block east at Washington and Clinton Streets. On February 28, 2019, The Buffalo News announced that Evans Bank, which opened its downtown headquarters in the Main-Court Building the previous October, bought the naming rights to the station for nearly $161,000 for five years and nearly $352,000 if extended to 10 years.
Fountain Plaza is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located in the 500 block of Main Street between Huron and Chippewa Streets. Fountain Plaza serves the northern section of the Buffalo Downtown Central Business District and the Buffalo Theater District since the permanent closing of Theater station on February 18, 2013. Fountain Plaza is at the north end of the Free Fare Zone, where customers traveling north are required to have proof-of-payment.
Allen/Medical Campus is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located at the corner of Main and Allen Streets at the northern end of Buffalo, New York's downtown and is the last underground station to the south requiring payment before entering the Free Fare Zone. The station was temporarily closed in 2015 to incorporate a new building at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences into the station's aboveground entrances.
University is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located near the intersection of Main Street and Niagara Falls Boulevard on the University at Buffalo South Campus. It is a major transfer point between Metro Rail and many city and suburban bus routes and offers a unique "Kiss and Ride" facility on the top level, above the mezzanine. This allows drivers of automobiles a separate area to drop off passengers, so they do not add to the traffic congestion from buses at the station during rush-hour periods and a large park-and-ride facility directly to the east of the station. Since University station serves as a terminal, immediately south is a double crossover. From May 20, 1985, to November 10, 1986, due to construction issues at LaSalle station, Amherst Street station served as the northern terminus. Since November 10, 1986, university station has served as the northern terminus.
Buffalo–Exchange Street station is an Amtrak station in Buffalo, New York. The station serves six Amtrak trains daily: two daily Empire Service round trips between Niagara Falls and New York City and one Maple Leaf round trip between Toronto and New York City. There is also daily Amtrak Thruway bus service at the station, operating between the Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center and Jamestown station in Jamestown, New York, via Dunkirk and Fredonia, and serving the communities along the southeast shore of Lake Erie.
Since the Buffalo Metro Rail light rail was proposed in the 1970s, there have been multiple proposals for expanding the system, which is currently a single 6.4-mile (10.3 km) long line. Public officials, agencies and advocacy groups have created plans, with the most recent and extensive being an extension to the town of Amherst. Groups have formed on both sides of the issue.
Union Station is an Amtrak railroad station and mixed-use commercial building in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. It is served by the Lake Shore Limited route, which provides daily passenger service between Chicago and New York City or Boston; Erie is the train's only stop in Pennsylvania. The station's ground floor has been redeveloped into commercial spaces, including The Brewerie at Union Station, a brewpub. The building itself is privately owned by the global logistics and freight management company Logistics Plus and serves as its headquarters.
Canalside, formerly known as Canal Side and also referred to as Erie Canal Harbor, is a commercial and residential district in downtown Buffalo, New York. It is the recreation of the western terminus of the Erie Canal, which was destroyed in the early 20th century. Canalside is situated on the Buffalo River, in an area that was historically home to the Seneca people.
Lafayette Square is a park in the center of downtown Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States, that hosts a Civil War monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings. The square was named for General Lafayette, who visited Buffalo in 1825.
The Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center is located on the southeast corner of North Division and Ellicott Streets in Downtown Buffalo, New York. The transportation center is open 24 hours daily.
LECOM Harborcenter is an American mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York developed by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connected to the KeyBank Center and Canalside. The building is also near the southern terminus of the Erie Canal Harbor station.
Transportation in Buffalo, New York is dominated by automobile use, but other modes of transportation exist in the city.
DL&W station is a Buffalo Metro Rail light rail indoor station currently under construction, and scheduled for completion in mid 2024, It is planned for the first floor on the Buffalo River side of the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal, which currently serves as the NFTA Rail Maintenance Yard. In addition to the Riverwalk entrance, a new entrance on South Park Avenue at Illinois Street will be built, and the new station will eliminate the Special Events station, and provide commuters access to parking and Metro Rail service to the city, and a direct pedestrian walkway to Canalside areas.
Empire Service, Maple Leaf (at Buffalo–Exchange Street)
