The Butler Transit Authority voted Tuesday to cut some of its bus routes beginning next month.

Routes 2 and 4 will be eliminated on Saturdays, while the last trip of Routes 1 and 3 also will be cut.

There will be no bus service on Sundays.

The authority also is cutting the last trip of each of its five weekday routes.

“Unfortunately not enough people are using the routes for them to stay viable,” said executive director John Paul. “Our hands are tied.”

Paul said the authority would be out of reserve funds by the end of the year if it did not make the cuts to the underused routes.

The authority set standards of operation last year in accordance with regulations through the state Department of Transportation.

Those performance standards dictate each route must have at least 9 passengers per hour and a 20 percent fare recovery rate.

Each of the cut trips Monday through Saturday have well less than 9 passengers per hour, with most averaging below five.

The Sunday trips do meet the 9 customers per hour rate, but pull in just a 13.2 percent fare recovery rate.

Paul said most of the money the authority receives to operate the buses comes from state and federal grants.

“That’s why the state requires that we have standards,” he said.

Paul added increasing fares on the buses would not cover the operational costs.

The authority will be under review by the state this fall.

The authority held two public meetings earlier this month to allow the public to make comments on the proposal.

Paul said three people attended the meetings.

The public was also given the opportunity to submit comments via e-mail, by mail, or through comment cards at the terminal. The authority received 19 comments.

Paul said the authority first incorporated weekend and night service into its regular schedule about five years ago.

“Some of the routes really took off,” Paul said. “But these areas did not come up to our ridership standards.”

Routes 2 and 4 cover the south side of the city, including stops at the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Butler County Community College. Routes 1 and 3 make trips to Moraine Pointe Plaza and the Clearview Mall, respectively.

The changes will begin July 1.

There will be no alternative options for transportation offered by the authority.