Westmoreland Transit buses run normally after county operations takeover

Lisa Snow drove the Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s 4F bus to and from Pittsburgh on Thursday, the same route she’s operated over the past few years.

There were no differences in how and where the bus traveled, but for Snow and her passengers, it was the start of a new era. For the first time since the transit authority was created in the 1970s, it served as its own bus operator and service provider.

“Everybody is positive about it,” Snow said after unloading passengers at the authority’s Greensburg transit center following her afternoon run from Pittsburgh. “There was mismanagement, and I think the transit authority will do a better job.”

Buses on commuter and local trips operated on routes and schedules that have been in place for several years. Door-to-door shared-ride trips as part of the authority’s Go Westmoreland paratransit programs saw no service interruptions nor system alterations as part of the agency’s takeover of operations.

Officials said the move became necessary after unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate the agency’s five-year, $39.5 million contract, signed in May 2018, with National Express Transit Inc. to operate both the bus and paratransit programs. The Ohio-based private company contended it needed more money from the authority, while the authority claimed management issues over the last year resulted in driver shortages, maintenance failures and route cancellations.

Since its inception, the authority functioned solely as an administrative office. But a change to the agency’s charter, approved last summer by county commissioners and transit authority board members, allowed it to operate the bus and paratransit services. Officials said that move could result in about $2.3 million in savings over the next three years.

The authority hired more than 130 employees in the past two months, including many of the drivers and maintenance workers who previously manned the local buses for National Express. They officially became authority employees Thursday.

“I can tell you that things have gone very smoothly so far today,” said authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec. “The operators, maintenance staff, managers and supervisors that we hired all showed up and went to work. Our passengers should not have noticed any difference. As I have said before, we have always had a lot of good people operating and maintaining our buses. The only change is that today they work directly for the authority.”

Diane Fry of Mt. Pleasant said she takes the bus two or three times a week and saw no signs of the changes during her trip Thursday afternoon to Westmoreland Mall.

“It seems they have a lot of good drivers. I hope things improve, but the buses always ran on time for me. I’m very happy with the service, but there’s always room for improvement,” Fry said.

Jennifer Sever of Greensburg, who travels by bus nearly every day, said she had no issues with the service Thursday.

“Everything is running smooth,” Sever said.

And driver Amy Romero said passengers on her Route 9 bus from Latrobe to Greensburg didn’t see any impact from the authority’s takeover.

“I’m driving the same route I did before,” Romero said. “All is well.”