Butler County residents can take a weekday trip to Pittsburgh on a bus fueled by compressed natural gas starting Dec. 18.

The Butler Transit Authority announced Thursday that it will offer two Pittsburgh trips each day, Monday through Friday, for $5 each way, according to John Paul, the group's executive director.

The route will begin at the authority's bus terminal on East Cunningham Street and tentative stops include the former Shop 'n Save parking lot in Pullman Square, Glade Run Church in Middlesex Township and Twelve Oaks Mansion in Adams Township.

The bus will then travel south on Interstates 79 and 279 to the final stop at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

“I believe this is a service for Butler County residents,” Paul said of the reason for undertaking the authority's first Pittsburgh run. “Myers Coach Lines has provided great service for a great number of years, but it only served the Route 8 corridor.”

Myers Coach Lines will no longer offer service to Pittsburgh, but Myers passes will be accepted on the new route.

Paul said beginning in January, a stop at the Allegheny Station on Pittsburgh's North Shore will be added, which will allow riders to immediately access Pittsburgh Light Rail, known as the “T.”

Pending ridership numbers, Paul hopes to add a park-and-ride stop in Cranberry Township and to provide service to residents near Route 68 in Forward Township and Evans City with a stop on Route 528, where the bus would then travel south on Interstate 79 to Interstate 279.

“We want to provide service to the maximum number of people in the county as possible,” Paul said.

He said Westmoreland County sends 18 buses to Pittsburgh on a daily basis and Beaver County sends 15.

The Butler Transit Authority's new CNG buses seat 58 people and riders can stand if a bus overfills, Paul said.

“If people are standing, we'll add buses, which is the hope,” he said.

The buses will be fueled with CNG at a temporary fuel station at the authority property. Construction of a permanent CNG fuel station will begin in the spring and should be complete by the end of the summer, Paul said.

He said the CNG will save the authority about $15 per trip versus diesel fuel.

“And their emissions are much, much lower than diesel,” Paul said.

Paul hopes the service will take off in Butler with residents embracing it and using it often.

“We need it to be successful so it can grow and we can get even better service from the Butler County area to Pittsburgh and Allegheny County,” Paul said.

The five CNG buses cost $780,000 per bus, and were funded through federal grants in the works for more than a decade, Paul said.

State Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11, helped immensely with state funding as well, Paul said.