Westmoreland Transit rider numbers inch upward, authority to hire more drivers

Rich Cholodofsky, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 16—Public transportation ridership numbers still are a long way from pre-pandemic levels, but they are showing a slight rebound that has Westmoreland County Transit Authority officials hopeful better times are ahead.

"We've had a little bit of an increase," Executive Director Alan Blahovec said at the authority's monthly business meeting. "We're seeing an improvement, and we're starting to show that we need more drivers."

The authority's door-to-door shared ride program, operating under the Go Westmoreland banner, broke the 500-ride daily threshold last month for the first time since the pandemic caused ridership to crater in March 2020. At its height, Go Westmoreland provided more than 800 daily rides.

Blahovec estimated GO Westmoreland ridership still is 40% below levels reached in 2019.

Fixed-route bus service also is seeing an uptick in riders.

"It's better than it was this time last year. It's still low, but a little bit better," Blahovec said.

Ridership on the authority's commuter routes into Pittsburgh as well as local service in Westmoreland County was on the decline before the pandemic, but, as travel slowed to a trickle last spring, ridership numbers dramatically fell off.

Authority buses saw 7,866 passengers over a four-week period that ended April 7. Over the same period last year, 6,495 trips were taken on the buses. Blahovec estimated that bus ridership dropped by about 75% since 2019.

Still, authority officials expect to see ridership numbers grow in the coming months as more people get vaccinated and more residents return to work. A survey conducted of past riders indicated that about half said they plan to again use the bus service within the next two months, Blahovec said.

Authority board members are hopeful the increases continue.

"We think we'll see an increase in the amount of commuters in the next several weeks," said board Chairman Frank Tosto.

Officials said there are no plans to increase bus service on commuter and local routes, but additional trips on existing routes could be added if ridership continues to grow.

With more riders expected, more drivers will be needed.

Blahovec said the authority needs to hire five drivers for its fixed-route bus serve and another 10 for the agency's Go Westmoreland service. To apply, go to westmorelandtransit.com and click on the employment link found in the About Us tab.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .