NY: Ulster County Transit Area bus ridership dips in 2025

Ridership on Ulster County Transit Area buses dropped slightly in 2025 as compared to a year before, officials said.

Records with the free-fare transit service, commonly known as UCAT, indicate that there were 537,230 rides given on the buses in 2025, compared with 540,975 in 2024, or 3,745 fewer.

Still, the 2025 UCAT ridership number dwarfs those from years before the rides were free.

Toni Roser, UCAT’s director, said in an email that ridership remains hefty. He attributed the slight decrease as likely being because of route changes and moving the bus hub from Kingston Plaza.

“While ridership remains strong, that slight dip from the prior year reflects adjustments we made beginning September 15, 2025, when routes were consolidated to comply with the Plaza’s request that it no longer serve as a hub,” Roser said.

At the time, Kingston Plaza owner Brad Jordan said that despite efforts to accommodate the UCAT bus system, it became obvious that the shopping center was not a suitable location to serve as a central gathering point for the dozens of riders who gathered there to catch one of the many buses that stopped at the site.

“Although we are big proponents of public transportation and have always appreciated working with UCAT and Ulster Government, we had never been asked if we would accommodate a UCAT transit hub and only recently became aware we were fulfilling that role,” Jordan said. “Unfortunately, despite efforts on everyone’s part, it has become abundantly clear we simply are not equipped to handle the number of patrons and buses involved in operating as a hub.”

Days earlier, the county unveiled a new Ulster County Area Transit map, which moved the hub from the Kingston Plaza to Development Court, located on U.S. Route 9W in the town of Ulster.

In 2024, ridership ballooned past 500,000, well above the number of rides given a year earlier, according to statistics from the bus service.

Since free rides began in October 2022, UCAT ridership has soared each year by the thousands. In 2024, UCAT statistics showed that 540,974 rides were given, or 104,948 more than in 2023, for a 24.1% increase. In 2023, the number of rides given was 436,026.

The two years were the first full ones since the no-fare rides were instituted.

In all of 2022, the ridership number was 296,257. The 2024 number is 244,717, or 82.6%, higher than the 2022 figure.

For 2024, the highest monthly ridership number — 53,914 — was reported in October. The lowest was in January, with 35,797.

U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D- Gardiner, who represents the 18th Congressional District, was county executive at the time the free rides were implemented. The free rides began Oct. 1, 2022.

The loss in bus fare revenue is being made up through the county’s surplus fund balance, which is paid by taxpayers, making the effort a county-subsidized one.

According to the bus fare elimination resolution, the state and federal governments fund 75% of UCAT’s operation.

In the past, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said the surge in ridership is good business for UCAT.

“Increasing ridership is great for UCAT’s bottom line, since state funding for public transportation is tied to the number of passengers, but more importantly, it is great for our people and for our economy,” Metzger has said. “Providing affordable access to bus service expands education and employment opportunities for those without personal transportation, fosters independence for seniors who no longer drive, and contributes to our ongoing efforts to reduce harmful emissions and alleviate road congestion.”

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