BUTLER TWP — The Butler Transit Authority might consolidate with other regional transit authorities down the road.

The state Department of Transportation is studying whether the consolidation of 11 transit authorities in Southwestern Pennsylvania would cut costs and boost income for them.

John Paul, the executive director of the Butler Transit Authority, said the study is a requirement of the state law that passed last fall that reconstructed the governing board for Allegheny County’s Port Authority.

“It was the final paragraph of that law,” he said.

Erin Waters-Trasatt, the deputy press secretary for PennDOT, said the study is in its early stages.

“Our consultant working on the project is currently collecting and analyzing data from the transit systems in the 10-county area impacted by the bill,” she said.

Waters-Trasatt said a report from the study is due to the General Assembly in April 2014.

She said the report will offer ana-lysis on options available in the region.

“Based on this analysis, various comparisons and scenarios regarding funding and administration will be reviewed,” she said.

Paul said he doesn’t know what sort of consolidation recommendation could result from the study, but he thinks the main intention of it is to examine the consolidation of all 11 authorities into one authority.

Paul said he would not oppose consolidation if it would benefit Butler County.

“As long as it benefits the residents of Butler County, I don’t have a problem with it,” he said. “But we want to make sure current service levels are maintained.”

Paul said no one will know that until the report of the study is released.

“There’s going to be a lot of uncertainty until we see the results of the study,” he said.

Should the study recommend consolidation, it would be up to local officials whether to take the advice or not, according to Paul.

Butler and Butler Township are the two municipalities governing the Butler Transit Authority.

Paul said even if the 11 authorities ultimately do not consolidate into one, he still expects them to work together more often for the best needs of their riders.

“I think we’ll see more cooperation between authorities,” he said. “We can work together more efficiently even without consolidation.”

The 11 agencies up for consideration span 10 counties and are all part of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

In addition to the Butler Transit Authority, the other agencies are: Port Authority of Allegheny County, Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority, Beaver County Transit Authority, City of Washington Transit, Indiana County Transit Authority, Mid-County Transit Authority, Westmoreland County Transit Authority, Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation, New Castle Area Transit Authority, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s CommuteInfo program.