Buses from the Butler Transit Authority line up on West New Castle Road in downtown Butler on Friday, June 13, 2025. Butler Eagle File Photo

Rob McGraw

Public transit riders in Butler will eventually see updated bus routes in the city.

The Butler Transit Authority’s board of directors approved moving forward with restructuring local bus routes over the next couple years at its Tuesday, July 14, meeting. The authority will work with the state Department of Transportation to come up with new routes.

The authority is also looking into an increase in the frequency routes are run.

There will be no immediate changes to bus routes or schedules. Implementation of changes is anticipated to begin during the second half 2027, the authority said.

“BTA is excited to take this important step toward enhancing public transportation throughout Butler,” said John Paul, the authority’s executive director. “This gives us the opportunity to modernize our local service to better meet the needs of today’s riders while planning for the future transportation needs of our community.”

The authority said the restructuring of routes is intended to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness of the authority’s local transit system by improving service reliability, reducing travel times and better matching current travel patterns.

According to the authority, the restructuring will be implemented as a three-year project. It is based on recommendations from a study conducted through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

“The purpose of the study was to evaluate opportunities to improve local transit service by modifying existing route alignments, increasing service frequency and identifying the fleet resources needed to successfully support these improvements,” a news release from the authority said.

Commuter routes to Pittsburgh will not be impacted by the changes.

As planning of new routes and frequencies progresses, the authority will provide new information on proposed changes and schedules, hold public hearings and “provide opportunities for riders, stakeholders and community members to review the proposed changes and submit comments,” it said.

Paul said Tuesday night that annual local ridership is up about 3.5% from last year.

“I am very hopeful that the public and the ridership will be very excited about the changes that will occur here,” Paul said.