Westmoreland bus upgrades on hold as ridership remains low during pandemic

A planned upgrade of the Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus fleet is on hold as ridership on the agency’s fixed-route bus system continues to lag amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Six new commuter buses were to be purchased this winter to replace older vehicles on the road, Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said. But with fewer buses needed to accommodate fewer riders on the commuter service to Pittsburgh and most local routes, those upgrades will be pushed to least this summer — and potentially later — as officials wait for the pandemic to ease.

“We don’t know how much commuter service will recover or when we might need new buses,” Blahovec told authority board members last week.

The authority operates 20 daily and six Saturday routes with its fleet of 41 buses, including commuter service into Pittsburgh and local runs that circulate through most of the county.

Overall, ridership has dropped about 68% since last January. The biggest hit has been to the commuter service, which is down 86% over the last year.

System wide, for the 30-day period that ended Jan. 4, 2020, the authority had 19,600 riders. For that same 30-day period this year, nearly 6,100 people rode on authority buses.

“Until the pandemic eases and life comes back to normal, we can’t make changes,” said Frank Tosto, chairman of the authority board. “To envision what the future holds will be tough. We won’t know what to do until we get through this craziness.”

Not every route has underperformed or remained stagnant.

Officials said two local routes — buses that run between Jeannette and Greensburg and Greensburg and Latrobe — have seen growth, albeit modest at 3%, in recent months. Those routes feature stops at local hospitals and shopping destinations such as Westmoreland Mall.

“People are going to essential services,” Blahovec said. “It’s not a big increase, but it’s nice to see something increasing.”