$1 gets you from downtown Rochester up the Hudson/Portland corridor
RTS Bus Route 4 is the Hudson route that runs north out of the RTS Transit Center toward Hudson Avenue and Portland Avenue, with off-peak buses only about once an hour. It’s mainly useful if you’ve already committed to using RTS from Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport and you’re watching the downtown pulse times closely.
There’s no Route 4 stop at ROC itself; you first ride Route 6 Airport or Route 8 Chili from the airport curb to the RTS Transit Center on Mortimer Street downtown. Each leg is $1, so airport → downtown → Route 4 to Hudson/Portland comes out to $2 total if you pay cash fares on both buses.
Off-peak, Route 4 normally runs hourly, and locals on r/Rochester flat-out say they would not bet a flight on those headways. Miss the pulse downtown and you can stare at a roughly 60-minute gap before the next Hudson bus, which feels long if you just cleared baggage claim 20 minutes earlier.
Service on Route 4 also does not run especially late compared with the main BRT-style corridors, and residents point out that late-night airport arrivals often land too late to make both the airport leg and the Hudson leg by bus. If your flight lands after about 9–10 p.m., assume you’re probably in rideshare or taxi territory for at least one segment.
How to ride RTS Route 4 from ROC, step by step
- 1. Exit to the ROC bus area: Follow signs outside the terminal to the RTS stop where Routes 6 Airport and 8 Chili pick up; both charge a $1 base fare.
- 2. Board whichever shows up first: Regular RTS riders say they simply take the first 6 or 8 that comes to reach the RTS Transit Center downtown instead of waiting for a specific route.
- 3. Pay your $1 and get a transfer if available: Have $1 in cash or a pass ready; ask the driver about any transfer options so you don’t accidentally pay extra for the second leg.
- 4. Ride to the RTS Transit Center: The airport-to-downtown segment usually takes about 20–30 minutes depending on time of day and traffic.
- 5. Check the Route 4 pulse time: Inside the Transit Center, look for the Route 4 Hudson bay and compare your arrival with the printed or digital schedule for the next hourly departure.
- 6. Decide: wait or rideshare: Regulars often look at the wait for Route 4 and, if it’s close to an hour, grab a short Lyft/Uber from downtown to Hudson/Portland instead of sitting out the full gap.
- 7. Board Route 4 and pay $1 again: The northbound trip up Hudson and Portland typically runs 15–30 minutes depending on how far up the corridor you ride.
Watch out for
Locals complain that the post-redesign RTS network leans heavily on transfers at the Transit Center, so chaining airport → downtown → Route 4 adds failure points if your flight is late or baggage takes 25 minutes. Treat RTS Route 4 as a daytime, budget option and keep a backup ride plan saved in your phone in case you miss the hourly pulse.