Sign outside of the Jackson Township administrative offices. Jackson Township Facebook/Submitted Photo

After not receiving any proposals for snow removal at the Jackson Township Park N Ride, the Butler Transit Authority board of directors is employing the help of the township’s public works department instead.

John Paul, executive director of the Butler Transit Authority, said the township will plow the part of the parking lot owned by the authority and remove snow at the Park N Ride on Route 528.

A second contract approved by the board of directors Tuesday, Oct. 15, will have Jackson Township shovel snow from the sidewalks at the same site.

Paul said the authority will pay the township a little more than $22,000 per year for plowing, and between $60 and $240 per shoveling — a cost dependent upon the amount of snowfall.

The Park N Ride is used by people who utilize the authority’s commuter service, which has a route running between Butler and Pittsburgh.

According to Paul, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation owns about one-third of the parking lot, and the authority owns the other two-thirds, so each department maintains their own portion. Jackson Township has already been clearing the snow at the Park N Ride in PennDOT’s portion.

“They pay them to remove snow from their portion, and we pay to remove from additional parking spots,” Paul said. “The same guys that are going to plow it are going to shovel and salt the sidewalks.”

Also at the Tuesday meeting, the board of directors voted to pay $31,296 to install 13 fare boxes and their infrastructural materials on the buses.

Paul said these fare boxes are not electronic, and they replace electronic boxes on the authority’s buses. The buses each have an electronic fare collection system, which people can use ConnectCard Bus Passes on, but Paul said cash is still the most popular method for people to pay fares.

“A lot of people still pay cash,” Paul said. “That's the highest ridership.”