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State approves $2 million for WRTA services

Travel expanded to Trumbull

YOUNGSTOWN — The Western Reserve Transit Authority is using some of the $2 million awarded to it by the Ohio Department of Transportation to provide free transportation for certain populations, in a health care initiative.

Pregnant women, new moms and people who need a ride to a job or to a substance-use treatment facility will be able to use WRTA’s services by getting a voucher for transit services through a nonprofit or government agency that person is getting services through, Dean Harris, WRTA executive director, said.

The program received $25,000 this week to implement the program. Harris said WRTA will be reaching out to nonprofits and government agencies and asking them to submit proposals for use of the funds.

The state also approved $750,000 for WRTA to construct “high-end” bus shelters, primarily in Youngstown, Harris said. The project is a part of a project the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments is spearheading to “right-size” transportation approaches in Youngstown.

WRTA also received $305,000 to replace five vehicles, $17,000 for a motorized sweeper, $95,000 for bus lifts for maintenance, $189,000 for preventive maintenance and nearly $500,000 for an effort to offer regionalized and coordinated transportation in Trumbull County.

“It is going to allow us to coordinate services and provide opportunities for job access and medical appointments for the whole region, without the barrier of a county line,” Harris said.

The expanded routes in Trumbull County are in the design phase, and public meetings are expected to be held before the routes are finalized, Harris said.

“What is going on in Trumbull County will help those in Youngstown too, to get access to more of Warren, and to bring more people from Warren to Youngstown for jobs or whatever they need,” Harris said.

Harris said he expects to hire about 10 more people for the expansion, and the jobs start around $15 an hour.

WRTA is expected to receive even more funds for the expansion of transit services into Trumbull County next year, Harris said. Services are expected to start in March. Around July, the rest of the funds are expected to be announced by the state, Harris said.

None of the expanded services into Trumbull County will use money collected from the Mahoning County sales tax that funds WRTA’s activities in Mahoning County, Harris said.

The Warren Express route that now goes between Youngstown and Warren is funded by a grant. The state money will fund the new expansion, offering six new routes in and around Warren. But if WRTA plans to continue the services past May 2021 — how long the money from the state is expected to carry the service — there will have to be an additional funding source, Harris said.

It is possible the state could award more money, or that participating communities in Trumbull County offer up cash, or Trumbull County residents could be asked to pass a sales or property tax to continue funding the service.

“We will see what (Trumbull County) commissioners want to do and at that point and hopefully the services looks good and they want to continue on that scale,” Harris said.

Harris said the state funded five of the seven projects he requested funds for, though bus purchases and an HVAC project at the administration building will continue without the funding, Harris said.

The funds come from money set aside in the state’s transportation budget for local transit projects. The amount the state is investing is more than double than what was approved in 2017. The state received more than 200 requests seeking $180 million. According to ODOT’s news release, it awarded about $70 million on Monday.

rfox@tribtoday.com

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