Westmoreland transit authority votes to increase driver wages; eyes shared-ride fare increase

Residents who use the Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s shared-ride program will see a fare increase effective this fall following approval of the authority’s 2024-25 budget Thursday.

Details of the fare increase will be presented at the authority’s board meeting in July, said Deputy Executive Director Ashley Cooper-Brounce.

The shared-ride service — which sees about 166,000 riders per year — must be scheduled a day in advance. It often serves senior citizens, disabled individuals or people who need to travel to Pittsburgh for medical appointments.

Per trip, riders pay $2 for each zone they travel through. The authority maps its bus system into three zones.

For example, it would cost $2 to travel from Greensburg to Delmont, Youngwood, Unity and Jeannette; $4 to travel from Greensburg to Mt. Pleasant, New Stanton, Ligonier, Derry, Murrysville, New Kensington or Irwin; and $6 to travel from Greensburg to Scottdale, the Pittsburgh Mills Mall or the Cambria or Allegheny county lines.

The authority approved a budget of more than $17 million — a 4% increase from last year’s budget. Once the state budget is passed, the authority may receive $950,000 in additional funding, Cooper-Brounce said.

“(The state is) only saying we will receive an increased adjustment — it will be possible — after the passage of the state budget,” Cooper-Brounce said, referring to a letter received from the state Department of Transportation in April.

The authority still has covid relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, which makes up 24% of its revenue. But this will not be enough to account for the increased cost of employee benefits, fuel, vehicle parts and maintenance, Cooper-Brounce said.

Medical benefits will increase 12% at the start of the new year, up from last year’s 8% increase.

“Then just across the board — replacement parts, outside maintenance, towing, maintenance supplies — we’ve just seen a huge increase over the past several months, so the budget takes that into account,” Cooper-Brounce said.

A $1 wage increase was approved for the authority’s shared-ride program drivers.

“We have started their pay increase typically on July 1,” said Executive Director Alan Blahovec. “We would like to again this year increase their pay scale by $1 an hour. Currently, it’s $17 to start, $17.50 after one year.”

The authority has seen a 5% increase since last year in the number of riders for its fixed-route system, which has about 203,000 riders annually. Ridership is still down 45% from before the pandemic. The shared-ride program has seen a 6% increase from a year ago and is down 10% from before the pandemic.

The authority employs 155 people, nearly 15 more than last year. The 2024-25 budget has room for 10 more drivers and five administrative, maintenance and dispatch safety staff.