Department of Transportation Commends Local Officials for Embracing Transit-Service Efficiencies

Department of Transportation Commends Local Officials for Embracing
Transit-Service Efficiencies

7/20/2016-HARRISBURG

With its recent vote to consolidate its shared ride public transportation
service into the Central Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (CPTA),
Perry
County became the latest county to pursue efficiencies while preserving
service, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary
Leslie
S. Richards said.

CPTA will begin administering the service on October 1, a move that is
expected
to contain costs and sustain service into the future.

"I applaud local leaders and transit officials across the state who are
looking
at ways to preserve or expand service for Pennsylvanians and doing so as
efficiently as possible," Richards said. "There are many opportunities to
modernize services, and PennDOT will continue supporting our partners who
are
engaged in these discussions."

The move by Perry County mirrors similar actions by Columbia, Montour,
Union
and Snyder counties. CPTA has administered Columbia County's shared-ride
service since January 1, and started doing the same for Union and Snyder
counties on July 1, as well as in Montour County on July 15. These
consolidation efforts are expected to save $1 million annually throughout
the
region, which will help sustain the region's shared ride service.

Additionally, the Crawford Area Transit Authority started running Venango
County's fixed and shared ride services July 1. The counties will evaluate
how
much in savings will be achieved through the move.

Berks and Lancaster counties are already saving $2.8 million and $1.7
million
respectively over the next five years following their consolidation into
the
South Central Transit Authority in 2014.

These and other counties' efforts are supported by Act 89, the state's
transportation funding plan. Under the law, when a consolidation occurs,
counties' local transit match required for fixed route service can be
offset by
any cost savings for five years. Any additional cost savings could be
reinvested into increased transit services or could delay fare increases.

Also due to Act 89, consolidation benefits related to reduced local match
extend well beyond the initial five-year waiver period. For most local
funding
partners, the required local match must increase by 5 percent each fiscal
year.
For those that consolidate and achieve savings, after the five-year waiver
period, local match reverts to the pre-consolidation level, reducing local
funding for every subsequent fiscal year.

The decision of whether or how to consolidate is made by local transit
authorities and county officials. PennDOT continues to partner with county
and
transit officials interested in reviewing or pursuing consolidation
options.

Information on public transportation services, including previously
completed
consolidation studies, can be found at www.penndot.gov in the "Transit"
section
of "Doing Business." Public transportation is available in every
Pennsylvania
county, and information on those services can be found on the department
website under "Travel In PA."


MEDIA CONTACT: Rich Kirkpatrick, 717-783-8800

# # #

To view a complete list of District 6 News Releases: Click
http://www.penndot.gov/RegionalOffices/district-6/Pages/allnews.aspx

To unsubscribe click
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/PennDOT/Districts/d6media.nsf/unsubscribeform?OpenForm