May 6, 2015 2 min read

Washington County is unusual because it has three separate transit agencies, but that will soon change.

Members of Washington City Council are expected to vote tonight on merging the city transit agency with the Washington County Transportation Authority on July 1 and providing an $85,000 local match during the 2015-16 fiscal year.

During the same period, the county would provide $113,230 for the new transit agency, according to the proposed nine-page agreement, but the county commissioners did not discuss transportation issues Wednesday at a public agenda-setting meeting.

“We’ve been studying this for some time now,” said county Commission Chairman Larry Maggi after emerging from a closed session. “At some point, we’ll do a resolution. It’ll be sooner rather than later.”

The governing board of the third entity, the Mid-Mon Valley Transit Authority, which provides bus service in and around the Mon Valley and commuter service between river communities and Pittsburgh, declined last year to participate in the merger.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation favors consolidating transit services as a way to reduce costs, maintain and improve services and reduce overhead.

Washington Mayor Brenda Davis said the city has been using its Marcellus Shale impact fee to subsidize City Transit, but she expects $75,000 in annual savings under the merger.

“We’ve been allocating $155,000 just for City Transit,” Davis said. “If we only get $250,000 of Marcellus Shale impact fee money, that doesn’t leave us much to put into our streets.”

The new entity will be guided by a nine-member board, with seven representatives, including one representative to be a person with disability and one who represents senior citizens, appointed by the county. The city, which owns the intermodal transportation center on East Chestnut Street, will have two representatives on the board.

The Washington County Transportation Authority, which is temporarily operating in an office on North Main Street, expects to move into the Chestnut Street headquarters.

City Transit’s lime-green buses travel between Washington and Pittsburgh and its smaller vehicles make runs throughout the Washington metro area. Washington County Transportation Authority operates the “Washington Rides” paratransit service and the fixed-route Freedom Line between McDonald and Washington with stops at Route 19 shopping districts, The Meadows Racetrack & Casino and Tanger Outlets.