Rochester, Monroe County, RTS Partner To Provide Free Shuttle Service To Asymptomatic COVID-19 Testing Sites

Press release from the City of Rochester:

December 11 2020

The City of Rochester is partnering with Monroe County and the Regional Transit Service (RTS) to provide a free shuttle service to asymptomatic testing sites located in the city, Mayor Lovely A. Warren announced today.

Saturday’s schedule, which will service the neighborhoods surrounding East High School, can be found here: https://www.myrts.com/Maps-Schedules/RTS-Monroe/COVID-Rapid-Testing-Sites-Service. Additional dates and times for shuttle service will be updated to this link in the coming days.

“The ugly truth about Covid-19 is that it does not discriminate, it affects people from all walks of life, and like so many other crises throughout history, black and brown communities are disproportionately affected,” Mayor Warren said. “This shuttle service will help our residents overcome the transportation barrier and gain access to free rapid COVID-19 testing. I am grateful to the County and RTS for coming together to help our neighbors in these trying times.”

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our community has come together in ways we never could have anticipated. Whether we’re working together to provide PPE to our residents, supporting our small businesses, helping those facing eviction or foreclosure, or bringing greater access to COVID-19 testing, we are all in this together. As we continue to see a surge of new daily cases, we know that testing of asymptomatic carriers is an important tool to prevent further spread. I’m grateful to the City of Rochester and RTS for partnering in this effort and for putting the public health of our community at the forefront,” said County Executive Adam Bello.

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that our community is at its best when we all work together,” RTS CEO Bill Carpenter said. “It is in that spirit that RTS is happy to work with Mayor Warren and County Executive Bello on the new rapid testing program. The RTS team does an excellent job making sure that public transit is safe for our customers every day and the same will be true during this program.”

More information on Monroe County COVID-19 testing sites can be found here: https://www.monroecounty.gov/health-covid-19-testing.

News media: For more information on bus routes and operations, contact Tom Brede, Public Information Officer for the Regional Transit Service at tbrede@myRTS.com. For more information on City of Rochester COVID-19 response efforts, contact Bridgette Burch White at (585) 428-6064 or Bridgette.Burchwhite@cityofrochester.gov.

This press release was produced by the City of Rochester. The views expressed here are the author’s own.