Transit authority celebrates 30th anniversary
With a layover to commemorate its past, the Butler Transit Authority drove into the future Thursday by officially opening a compressed natural gas fueling station for its buses.
Local officials, county commissioners and state and federal legislators joined authority staff and board members at the authority's office and garage facility in the Pullman Center Business Park for a luncheon commemorating its 30th anniversary and ribbon cutting for its fueling station.
The authority was known as the Butler Township-City Joint Municipal Transit Authority when it began providing local bus service in 1989.
Now, the authority uses a fleet of CNG-powered buses that provide commuter service to Pittsburgh and local routes. Every day, an average of 110 people ride the commuter buses and an average of 570 people ride local buses.
The garage where buses are repaired and maintained has recently undergone a $2.4-million upgrade needed for mechanics to safely work on the authority's 11 CNG buses.
John Paul, authority executive director, praised U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, for helping secure the federal grant that paid for the upgrades.
“The upgrades are complete. The CNG station is open,” Paul said.
The fueling station has been in use for a month or two. The station is one of 29 statewide public transit projects costing a total of $84.5 million that are funded and constructed under the state Department of Transportation's public-private partnership project, which is run by Trillium CNG. The station, the 15th to open in the state, was built by Trillium at no cost to the authority.
“This innovative program is helping transit agencies save on fuel costs while allowing them to move to a cleaner burning fuel,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “These are important steps to helping us improve the quality of life across Pennsylvania.”
Before the station was built, the authority leased a temporary station for $7,500 a month.
Kelly presented the authority with a congressional certificate recognizing its “30 years of admirable service.” He commended the authority for having the vision and innovation to pursue CNG as a “new way of powering mass transportation.”
State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, echoed that sentiment and presented the authority with a citation from the Senate.
“We're going to be cutting edge. Butler is going to be an example for all of Western Pennsylvania,” Hutchinson said. He called the authority a “model worthy of emulation.”
The authority's bus service improves the quality of life in the county by providing people with transportation to work and medical appointments, he said.
“For the last 30 years, we've had a top notch transit authority,” Hutchinson said.
He also presented Joe Hasychak with a Senate proclamation for serving on the authority board of directors since its inception and acting as a Butler Township commissioner from 1980 to 2015
.“He is a shining example of community spirit,” Hutchinson said.Public transportation is vital to the economy and the authority recognizes that people need busing to get to work, said Leslie Osche, chairman of the county commissioners.She said public transit has become critical in getting employers to open businesses in the county.“It's about connecting people to jobs, education and health care,” said Commissioner Kim Geyer.Studies show public transportation attracts young adults looking to move to urban areas, she said.Commissioner Kevin Boozel said senior citizens, employees and people who choose not to own cars rely on the authority for transportation.He commended the authority for operating the local bus service and the commuter service to Pittsburgh.“Not only did we do it, we grew it. Not only did we grow it, we made it better,” Boozel said.The authority, which runs the local bus service on a $1.8 million annual budget and the commuter service on a $400,000 budget that include state and federal funds, was taken over by the county last year. The commissioners allocated $323,274 for the authority in this year's budget. Butler and Butler Township ran the authority for 29 years.After the event, Osche said increasing ridership for the commuter service to Pittsburgh that uses Route 68 is a priority.“Our biggest concern is to build support for the Route 68 route,” Osche said.The commuter bus stops at the Route 528 park and ride north of Cranberry Township before proceeding to Pittsburgh.Osche said the commissioners are preparing to launch a pilot program in which ANR (Alliance for Nonprofit Resources) Transport will pick up people from the park and ride and take them to their jobs in the township.“We will do a pilot project sometime this year,” Osche said.
