Beginning April 5, fixed route buses running in Mahoning and Trumbull counties will stop only at official bus stops to pick up and drop off passengers, according to a news release from the Western Reserve Transit Authority.

Riders will no longer be able to hail a bus as it passes, or request to disembark before a stop is reached, the release states.

“The primary motivation for this new policy is safety,” said Dean Harris, executive director of WRTA. “A rider is put in an unsafe position when he or she attempts to board a bus from an area where it’s not safe for a bus to stop. And when a bus unexpectedly stops at a location not marked by a bus stop, it can pose a danger to the traffic immediately around that bus.”

Stops are marked by signs, and information about stops is available online at tinyurl.com/WRTAstops, on the WRTA myStop Mobile smartphone app or by calling 330-744-8431 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.