Commissioners throw a lifeline to transit
The Washington County commissioners expect to vote today on a supplementary appropriation to the 2015 budget that restores a little more than $15,000 in funding to the Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority, and if the vote goes as he expects, Marc Roncone, the agency’s executive director – and its ridership – can breathe a sign of relief.
“Honestly, it will help us to not cut service drastically,” Roncone said Wednesday. The $15,300 allocation will enable Mid Mon Valley Transit to leverage $600,000 in state operating assistance.
“This is huge to the Mid Mon Valley communities that we provide the service to. The majority are Washington County communities.”
The final version of county’s 2015 budget that the commissioners approved unanimously last month zeroed out county taxpayers’ contribution to Mid Mon Valley Transit, which offers fixed-route commuter service along Route 88 to Pittsburgh and takes passengers from Westmoreland and Washington counties to shopping destinations in Belle Vernon.
For the first time, the budget allocated $45,000 to the Washington County Transportation Authority, which operates the Washington Rides paratransit service throughout the county and runs the Freedom Line fixed route between McDonald and Washington via Canonsburg, The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Tanger Outlets and shopping centers along Route 19.
The transportation authority and Washington City Transit, which runs fixed routes within the city and between Washington and Pittsburgh, are taking steps to merge, including the transportation authority’s move later this year to the new multimodal transportation center on East Chestnut Street. Mid Mon, however, is not part of this picture.
Commissioner Harlan Shober said the supplemental budget appropriation does not have strings attached that would include Mid Mon Valley in a transit merger. “We’re going to fund it this year. They feel they did not know until they came in looking at the budget numbers.
“We’re not going to make any commitments for the future, and I think that’s the difference. We’re all trying to step up to the plate.
“I would say that if the consolidation of the three entities is good for the county, we would like to see this happen. I don’t think we have all the answers at this point in time. If we can save $600,000 to $700,000 and provide at least as good as or better service, then it’s a good business decision to say, ‘Let’s try to do it.’
“The merger is still in progress between Washington Rides and Washington (City Transit). There are no definite answers on that. There are still a lot of issues to be resolved. Mon Valley Transit has shown they’re willing to consider to look at this, where it was a pretty straight no that we received earlier this past year.”
Shober noted that there is no fixed-route transit between the Mon Valley and the Washington area, something that valley residents have been requesting.
“There are jobs here that they would like to be able to get to,” he said.