The Butler Transit Authority will begin additional commuter bus service to and from Pittsburgh beginning next month.
“It’s been something that other counties in the region have that we did not have,” BTA Executive Director John Paul said. “It’s something for our hardworking residents to be able to use if they so choose to.”
‘The Bus’ will service the Route 68 corridor and make a stop at the Route 528 Park n Ride in Jackson Township, and then will drive straight into the North Shore of Pittsburgh where passengers can use the free ‘T’ to get to their final destination downtown.
Currently, ‘The Bus’ operates two routes into downtown Pittsburgh via Route 8 to Route 28. Service on Route 8 will continue with some modifications.
Just like with any commute, construction is a concern, Paul says, but those taking advantage of the new service can leave the rest in the capable hands of their bus driver.
“Our biggest concern right now is the construction on the lower part of Interstate 279 and how that’s going to affect commute in the morning and the afternoon,” he said. “The good news is for people on the bus, they can use the Wi-Fi and they can work from the bus and let us drive and they don’t have to worry about it and also worry about finding parking.”
Schedules are available at butlertransit.com, in the bus terminal and on the commuter buses.
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The Butler Transit Authority’s commuter service to Pittsburgh is made possible through a demonstration project.
The project is funded using a combination of federal, state and local funding and the authority must meet performance goals in order to continue the service.
“The bottom line is they’ve established the four performance standards that we have to meet within the third year of our operation but we fully expect to do that,” BTA Executive Director John Paul said in an interview. “If it wouldn’t occur, obviously there would be no official state funding for this operation and so we wouldn’t be able to sustain it with our budget and the service would probably need to end.”
PennDOT worked with the authority to set the goals- which revolve around passengers and operating costs per hour. According to Paul, the service could expand if those goals are met.
“At that point, we could possibly look at adding additional services and getting additional vehicles…but we have to prove ourselves with these runs in the next upcoming three years,” he said.
The authority will be measuring each of the goals to determine the success of the project.
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