This linen route number side rollsign was removed from retired
Rochester City Lines 1954 built GMC TDH-5106 #702. City Lines
Management Corp. was under operational contract when this
bus was retired, as their name appeared on the side of the bus
under the driver's window and just behind the front door.
The rollsign, with its more intricate classic character style, has
no print date. It has 19 exposures.
Retired Rochester City Lines (City Lines Management Corp.
contracted) 1954 built GMC TDH-5106 #702, the bus this route
number rollsign was recovered from, is seen as discovered
at a scrap yard in western New York state on June 4, 2025.
Rollsigns from Rochester City Lines, NY
City Lines Management Corp. Contracted - The predecessor to RGRTA / RTS
Public transportation in the greater Rochester area can trace its roots back to the streetcar and interurban lines operated by
the Rochester Railway Company and later New York State Railways. In 1929, New York State Railways entered receivership,
and local interests formed a plan to reorganize the former Rochester Railway. After several years of negotiation, the New York
State Public Service Commission approved a reorganization plan in 1937. On August 2, 1938, Rochester Transit Corporation
assumed operation of the bus and streetcar operations serving the city. The last streetcar line was converted to bus operation
in 1941, though contract operation of the city-owned Rochester Subway continued until 1956 (RTC ended freight operations
in the Subway by 1957, transferring the responsibility to the connecting railroads). The company was returned to local control
in 1943 when the remaining shares owned by Associated Gas & Electric were bought out.
With postwar prosperity came increased use of automobiles and the spread of population out to the suburbs. Rochester
Transit Corporation was plagued by labor unrest, and strikes in 1952 and 1965 ground the system to a halt. A dispute
over job listings and seniority caused a brief two-day strike in May 1967. With the transit workers contract coming to an
end that fall, stalled negotiations led to another strike in November 1967. The work stoppage continued through the
holiday season, and with no end in sight, the City of Rochester drew up a plan to condemn and purchase the transit
company operations. Over the objections of RTC, the strike came to an end on January 25, 1968, and the city contracted
with National City Management Company to operate the bus lines as Rochester Transit Service.
Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) was formed in 1968 by a state act of government which
also formed three similar agencies in Syracuse, Buffalo, the Capital District around Albany and New York City. The RGRTA
took over the former RTC bus operation from the City of Rochester and later began expanding bus service to outlying
suburban and rural areas. The lines that made up the former RTC service became part of the Regional Transit Service
(RTS) in Rochester and Monroe County. The largest subsidiary of the RGRTA, Regional Transit Service (RTS) serves
Monroe County (Rochester and its immediate suburbs) as well as providing service to students at Monroe Community
College and Rochester Institute of Technology. Students in the Rochester City School District are also served. Suburban
and park-and-ride routes serve the outlying towns in Monroe County and surrounding counties of Genesee, Livingston,
Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne and Wyoming, including service into Avon, Victor, Lyons, and Le Roy.
On August 19, 2014, RGRTA announced a rebranding of all their bus lines in the surrounding counties under their
control, including WATS, to be named RTS with the county name following, rather than independent names. The
changes were officially implemented immediately with equipment and uniforms changing as they are phased in.
RTS Wayne as it is now known, operates in this area to this day.
Retired Rochester City Lines (City Lines Management Corp.
contracted) 1954 built GMC TDH-5106 #701, the bus this route name
and number rollsign was recovered from, is seen as discovered
at a scrap yard in western New York state on June 4, 2025.
This linen route name and number
curb-side front rollsign was removed
from retired Rochester City Lines
1954 built GMC TDH-5106 #701.
City Lines Management Corp. was
under operational contract when this
bus was retired, as their name
appeared on the side of the bus
under the driver's window and just
behind the front door.
It's only the bottom part of the entire
rollsign. It starts with "15-RIDGE"
and "15-NORTON" at the very worn
beginning. Everything prior to that
was destroyed or so far damaged
it was unrecoverable after being
exposed to the elements, heat and
animals for so many years at the
scrap yard. What was saved has
21 exposures.