Butler to Pittsburgh bus rides free through April
Ridership of the Butler Transit Authority’s Commuter bus service, whose route runs from Butler to Pittsburgh and back on weekdays, is 17% above average ridership so far this month, but its revenues from fares has ground to a halt.
John Paul, executive director of the authority, said administrators decided to waive rider fares through April in an effort to attract more riders to the Commuter. He said the coronavirus pandemic caused a huge loss of users of the service, and many former riders have not returned.
“I consider it a success at this point,” Paul said of the waived fares. “The whole idea was to try to get people back commuting that we had lost on the pandemic.”
The Commuter has four routes that start and end their days at the Butler Transit Authority in Pullman Center Business Park. The regular fare for the service is $5 per trip, but people also can buy a 31-trip pass, which brings the cost down to $4 per ride.
Paul attributed the loss of riders of the Commuter to the boost in the number of people who started working from home during the pandemic, many of whom still work under a hybrid model of in-person and from home.
Although the Commuter is not generating money from fares this month, Paul said the transit authority is using money it received from the American Rescue Plan to offset the loss of revenue.
“That's what those are for (Paul said of the ARP funds),” trying to re-establish commuters. If we get more ridership, then the fares from new riders will replace the lost fares.”
In February, riders took 1,132 trips on Commuter buses. With the cost of fares and the 31-trip pass taken into effect, Paul estimates the transit authority would use about $4,500 of its ARP money this month to replenish those funds.
Paul also said the Commuter for the most part has maintained its routes and schedules since the COVID-19 pandemic started, so administrators of the authority are waiting to see what the demand is before making any changes to it.
“Unfortunately, we don't have the equipment to supply more than what we are currently providing because it would take more buses,” Paul said. “Demand would have to grow before we grow.”
