Westmoreland transit authority sees signs of rebound after years of pandemic-related declines

After months of declines in ridership during the coronavirus pandemic, Westmoreland County Transit Authority buses appear to have turned a corner.

Transit officials said last week the agency’s fixed-route bus service, which operates 18 weekday and six Saturday routes throughout West­moreland County and commuter service to Pittsburgh, has seen marginal growth in the past few months and signs that better times are ahead.

More than 9,500 passengers rode authority buses in January, a more than 19% increase from the year prior, according to ridership statistics.

“For where we were, this is a positive sign and we’re expecting better times in the coming months,” said transit authority Deputy Director Ashley Cooper-Brounce.

Ridership fell off dramatically at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and prompted the authority to cut back some of its service and reduce the number of bus runs on multiple routes. Officials said that as ridership continues on an upward trajectory, service could be added this spring.

Even before the pandemic, ridership had been on the decline. During the 2016-17 fiscal year, the authority’s fixed-route bus service saw more than 473,000 riders. Over the next two years, ridership fell by more than 14%, and during the 2019-20 fiscal year, which included about four months after the onset of the pandemic, the number of riders failed to top 300,000.

During the 2020-21 fiscal year, at the height of the pandemic, just more than 113,000 riders traveled on authority buses, a more than 76% decline over five years.

Fares have remained unchanged in spite of ridership decreases as the authority tapped into covid-relief funds to balance its operating budget.

The pandemic also halted a planned effort to increase ridership and revise the authority’s bus routes based on recommendations made in a $90,000 study of agency services completed in 2019.

The study found the authority’s Pittsburgh commuter service and routes to Greensburg, Jeannette, Irwin and Westmoreland County Community College were favored by riders. Meanwhile, planners concluded routes between Avonmore and New Kensington, downtown New Kensington to the Penn State New Kensington campus, and Ligonier to Greensburg are among the least utilized.

Initial plans called for the authority to continue its commuter service, focus on more local routes and potentially add service to shopping centers and other popular locations, including more trips to Westmoreland Mall to accommodate the casino that opened there last year.

Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said those conclusions are now outdated.

“We might have to redo it since it’s been a couple of years,” Blahovec said.