Niagara Frontier Transit Metro System

If I could give –5 stars I would. Poor scheduling. Poor customer service. I’ll tempered drivers with no regard for passengers as they slam on the brakes and gas. Lacking in technology. Serious disregard for the community they serve and a sense of entitlement because they have no competition.

Buffalo’s transit system is great when you need it. I like to use it if I’m going downtown and don’t want to worry about parking or if I’m going out for a night on the town. It’s not the fastest way to get around, but the buses run on time for the most part and a ride is only a couple of bucks. You’ll meet some interesting people… Interesting…

I rode this last night to get from Allen Medical Campus to the First Niagara arena. What that means is «Special Events» on the list of trolley stops. It stops about 100 feet from the front door of the arena. How great is that, especially during inclement weather!
The return ride, I noticed that our seats felt heated. That was a great surprise since it was COLD outside. Not sure if all are heated or just the ones that appear to be on a box — so find one that is one a box if your tuchus is frozen.
To pay, you pay at a self serve machine. Cash only but it does make change. But be forewarned: your change will be in a mixture of 1 $ coins.
Overall the metro ride was great and made it unnecessary to pay for parking near the arena.

NFTA is hands down, without a doubt the worst service in existence. I paid $ 75 for a monthly bus pass just for the driver’s to intentionally speed right by me as I try to wave them down while at a bus stop. Then, if and when you do catch a bus, you are met with rude, condescending drivers. I just moved to Buffalo from NYC, and the difference in service is laughable and frustrating. Plus, the schedules are a joke, with long gaps between buses at peak times. The NFTA needs a serious reworking, and better training for the driver’s, and perhaps a lesson in courtesy and professionalism. If a person is waiting at a bus stop, odds are they are waiting for the bus. Why speed by as if you are too uninterested to do your job?

Not only does the fare keep increasing but their bus drivers dont pay attention and drive right past you, the buses are almost extremely late or extremely early. Its a poor company for a poor city i guess.

The bus station itself is very clean and located in downtown Buffalo, but the people inside are the absolute rudest and can’t take orders or directions well, especially at the Tim Horton’s. I ordered a medium iced coffee, and they gave me an iced coffee that was warm and watered down, no ice cubes. And when I told the person making the coffee, he was extremely rude and ghetto, rolling his eyes and scoffing. Extremely ghetto, with a name like Treyshawn. The lady at the Greyhound counter was on her cell phone the whole entire time, not giving any attention to the people who wanted to ask where the bus to Toronto was boarding from. Clean place, horrible people and staff, eating options. It’s better to walk out of the building and go down to the information section in downtown or the Tim Horton’s a few blocks away.

The Viagra Front-​ear is an ear-​like cavity that you attach to the forehead so that you can down a lot of Viagra directly into your brain. I’m not sure why people do it, nor why they named a bus network after it. It sounds kind of gross to me, but one day when I’m a 72-​year-​old man I’ll probably need a Viagra Front-​ear too, so I shouldn’t hate on it.
In the old days, I couldn’t drive. I mean, I could, but not legally. So I’d ride buses all over town. I lived on the East Side, so there were plenty of buses available. I didn’t like that late at night, most of the buses would stop running, since I’m a night owl. However I have to say that there’s an excellent networks of buses, with good drivers, smart routes, and full coverage all over Buffalo and I appreciate that.
It loses 1 point for not running late enough for me, and not providing enough coverage to suburbs… but then I suppose if there was a big suburban demand, then they would. And there probably isn’t.

Transit Police (at least one particular officer) is rude and unhelpful. This officer was hostile and belligerent to several others in the terminal who may have been homeless or may have been passengers. I was going to file a complaint based on what I saw, but then I got to experience it myself.
Officer Friendly approached me with interest when I was sitting by a gate charging my iPad and phone. He took a hostile tone with me and accused me of giving him attitude when I was answering his questions about my destination and travel plans. He then accused me of staying in the terminal for three days straight. (Really?)
He was skeptical when I pointed out that this was actually my first time in Buffalo in a month and demanded to see my ticket and asked several times about my destination. After I handed him my ticket, he looked it over, pushed it back at me, mumbled «Thank you,» and walked away.
On the upside, I can back up a couple of other observations from another review. There is a little heat, the Tim Hortons is well run, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are pleasant and not pushy, and we are safe from the danger of sleeping transients.

I have had occasion lately to ride the metro rail and take the number 8 Main Street Bus. I am surprised and pleased at the efficiency and courtesy of the bus drivers and the cleanliness of the trains. As the day grows later, the trains may run a few minutes late, but that is to be expected. The price is certainly right, as public transportation is more expensive in larger cities. It’s pretty easy to get around Buffalo by public transportation, & I really think I could do without my car. One star off because the elevators in the train station smell like pee, but they do in every big city. The train stations here are very safe, well lit, and everyone seems to be minding their own business.

The Buffalo bus station is a disgrace. Don’t spend time here if you can help it. It’s dirty, unfriendly, and an eyesore.
But, if you have to, it does hold a collection of different people across the city — city dwellers, Niagara falls, and all the bus travel to Canada and around the country. So, I like it for that — different groups mix. I also like that they don’t chase homeless people out — at least not often — it’s a public space and they shouldn’t be turned away from heat.
Recent improvements have made this place better:
Free wifi that is of good connection
Tim Horton’s replacing the shady snack stand. So, you can get a coffee and baked goods while you wait. It also makes the whole space a little more hospitable.
Buffalo really needs to get its act together.

On-​time, curious and professional. Confusing to understand at first, but the bus drivers are always willing to help.

When I tell people that I live in Buffalo, New York and don’t drive, the common reaction is to look at me like I’m crazy. «Wow,» «How do you get around?» and similar responses are common. But the public transportation infrastructure that we have here makes it quite easy.
First, I should note that my views on public transportation were heavily shaped by my time living in Japan and New York City. There, everything was incredibly accessible, if not exactly convenient per se. (A car will always halve the time from Brooklyn to Queens or quarter the time from some parts of Brooklyn to the other. At night, a trip from Manhattan two stops into Brooklyn could take 10 minutes… or you could be waiting at the station for an hour.) So convenience isn’t part of the equation. Rather, three criteria are key: Coverage, predictability, and security.
COVERAGE:
The city of Buffalo is just over 40 square miles (of land) and less than eight miles end to end, giving the city a more than respectable density of over 7,000 people per square mile even given our area’s significant population loss and the urban prairies of the East Side. But the city’s public transportation infrastructure was designed to support far more people. The city of Buffalo boasts subway or bus coverage on every major arterial route, every single street with any kind of major business from Abbott to Elmwood and South Park. There simply are no sections of the city of Buffalo unavailable to public transportation.
Beyond the city, coverage gets somewhat dicier, (a consequence of living in not-​dense-​at-​all suburbs) but major venues like the Boulevard, Galleria, and Eastern Hills malls, and the airport remain easily accessible by via dedicated bus routes. Meanwhile, bus coverage persists down suburban arteries such Niagara Falls Boulevard, Delaware, Union, and, heck, even Transit Road.
PREDICTABILITY:
As any New Yorker will tell you, predictability is NOT the same thing as reliability. Some trains simply vanish. Some buses get lost in swamps of traffic. These things don’t happen in Buffalo. Our trains run to near Japanese punctuality. Traffic severe enough to strangle or even ensnare simply doesn’t exist. Even on days with ample snowfall, both the bus and subway remain pretty set on schedule.
SECURITY:
In Tokyo and Osaka, dedicated trains exist for female passengers who don’t want to face the prospect of being groped. In New York, fights regularly break out on trains, and device theft runs rampant. Robberies, armed or otherwise, still aren’t uncommon late at night. On NFTA vehicles and in NFTA stations, these simply don’t occur. Subway stations are well lit (more important than you think), and well-​stocked with cameras. While lacking evident police booths at every station, transit police are often in evidence, and the system features two dedicated anti-​terrorism canine detection teams periodically sweeping cars. Subway cars and buses are both relatively clean compared to those of other cities and, on especially rainy days, look no worse than the floor of anyone’s car.
CONVENIENCE:
This isn’t one of my keys for success in public transportation, but I do want to address it briefly. A public transportation system will always be less immediately responsive than a car or a bicycle. Direct comparison is difficult. Times to depart or arrive have to be planned with greater precision. This isn’t an NFTA vs. other public transit issue. This is implicit in the mode of transportation. Within the city of Buffalo and its immediate suburbs, transit will get you where you need to go and will drop you off within a few blocks of your destination. If you’re trying to get to Quail Hollow Lane in East Amherst or some strip mall on Transit, I grant you no sympathy. Accessing it is inconvenient for cars, too.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
Numerous local activists (yours truly included) are constantly working to further the public transportation infrastructure. Extension and expansion of BRT or light rail systems to SUNY Buffalo’s north campus and the airport in particular would be wonders. The institution of a metro card system and turnstiles on the subway would yield the system a great deal more flexibility and more intelligence on rider habits. Still, the present state of the NFTA system works efficiently and allows Queen City dwellers a financially, economically, environmentally, and socially responsible alternative for car ownership. For 75% of those living within the Buffalo city limits and Kenmore town limits, I am convinced it can function as a complete and nigh exclusive replacement for car ownership.
5 stars for city coverage
3 stars for extra-​city coverage
4 stars for predictability
4 stars for security
4 stars overall

As a student in Buffalo without a car– when I don’t have a friend to give me a ride around the city– I’ve had to use the NFTA quite a few times. The majority of those times it was on the light rail subway, but a couple times on the bus as well.
I’ve never really had any problems with bus rides. I’ve only really taken it twice so maybe I can’t fully judge, once to the airport –and transportation was reliable and the drivers seemed courteous. It’s pretty convenient for students to get to the airport with an NFTA bus– it actually struck me by surprise. It leaves right from UB’s south campus terminal and goes directly there. Most kids seem to not know about this, as most I’ve met either take a $ 30 cab ride (which is ridiculously expensive) or have a friend drive them. I was literally the only student on the bus the time I went to the airport. While it’s a little longer than a cab (whole ride took like half-​hour/​40 mins, with the stops of course), I still didn’t have to transfer buses, and paying $ 1.75 vs. $ 30 was absolutely worth it.
Most of the time I’ve taken the subway, usually when I go downtown or to Allen. Ride-​wise I have no complaints; it’s on time and is usually pretty quick. The stops are pretty convenient, the theater district and Chippewa are right there when you get off. The first problem I have with it is the fact though that there is only one-​line, one that rides up and down Main Street and that’s it. Perhaps this seems snobby of me to judge considering I’m from downstate and am used to a massive subway system in NY with tons of different lines. The truth is I obviously don’t expect that in buffalo. But still, it would be nice to have a few more lines. Main Street isn’t always very close to many areas of buffalo. It would be awesome having a subway that expanded out to Elmwood village/​buff state, for example. I was reading that they had this kind of plan back in the 80s before the subway became what it is today– to connect it to north campus of UB as well.
Even with this issue though of one train line, there are still ultimately buses that go everywhere, even if it’s less convenient having to transfer buses through far distances. My biggest problem with the nfta– bus or train– is the fact that they stop running SO EARLY. The subway/​light rail stops running at 12, which is a major inconvenience, especially when something is going on downtown like a concert at the ballroom, bar-​hopping on Chippewa, soundlab, etc. There were quite a few times me and a couple of buddies wanted to go to some bars on Allen or downtown, and while we could get there just fine by subway, had no way of getting back after midnight, and couldn’t scramble enough money for a $ 30 cab from downtown. That put an end to that idea.
So ultimately, not a terrible public transportation system at all, but could definitely use improvements in policy– mainly with expanding later into the night. And seeing more lines added to the rail would definitely be nice as well.

I’ve been one that usually tries to be patient, but as of recently, less than impressed.
If I can sum up the NFTA in the eyes of a tourist (though I’m a local).
I’ve heard (and experienced)…
Surly drivers with an inability to assist one if the customer asks a question if a particular bus goes to a particular location. I’ve even watched drivers shut the door in peoples faces like they have rage issues.
Racing from one bus to another with the driver closing the door and taking off because you weren’t at the stop when they had pulled up. I actually chased one to the next stop once (thank god there was a red light) and got a snip from the driver for that same reason. A reply of not liking her attitude got me demanded to get off the bus.
Inadequately spaced trips throughout the system that don’t allow for easy transfers between vehicles. A reply from downtown was quoted as «this is what the stupid program tells us to do». A «stupid» program is only as stupid as the person that programmed it, capiche?
The list can go on for a long time, but the gist is simple: get back to customer service basics and remove those that are incapable of providing it to customers. In this day and time, the price could drop back down to $ 1.00 a ride, but the public won’t be interested if they don’t feel like they’re treated properly.
Footnote: there are exceptional employees that work for the company that I do get the chance encounter with, and for those people… keep up the great work! Your excellent attitudes may not be mentioned often enough, but they are noticed!
And to the general public (not blaming the NFTA for this one): GET A WATCH AND BE TO YOUR STOPS ON TIME. If there is a bus close to ten minutes late due to conditions beyond the drivers control, DON’T SLOW THE BUS DOWN FURTHER BY MAKING THE DRIVER WAIT WHILE YOU «RUN» FOR THE BUS.