BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The NFTA held another public meeting regarding the hopeful expansion of the metro rail into Amherst. The expansion would lead to the metro going into Amherst, connecting the University at Buffalo's north and south campuses.
The meeting, held at Sweet Home Middle School, analyzed how the expansion would happen, costing an estimated $1 billion. Half of that would be federally funded.
According to the NFTA, that type of expansion is needed as ridership has gone up.
"When we did an analysis earlier on we found out that ridership doubled. That's a significant increase" NFTA executive director Kim Minkel said.
When speaking with riders en route to Tuesday's Sabres game, many said the expansion would lead them to riding it more, as they feel like the current route isn't enough to warrant daily trips.
"It's pretty efficient," metro rider Danielle Gray said, "It's just a matter of it going in different directions and other places that would make it better for me."
This expansion is still in the fact-finding stage. According to the NFTA, an opening date could be ten years from now.
The public is welcome to make comments on the project at the NFTA Metro Expansion website here.
