WARREN — A patchwork of options for public transportation in Trumbull County is coming together, with services to help people get around set to begin in December, as one county commissioner is still pushing colleagues to commit to joining Mahoning County’s Western Reserve Transit Authority.

Although county commissioners have not voted to join WRTA, the public transit service obtained funds from the state to offer expanded fixed-route bus service in Warren and some other parts of Trumbull County.

There will be seven routes, some similar to the routes offered by WRTA during a previous program that ended earlier this year, and some changes.

“We’re fortunate that (the Ohio Department of Transportation) funded this service because it’s needed,” said Dean Harris, executive director of WRTA. “We do have limited routes at this point, but the routes we have put in place will help get residents where they need to go.”

The planned routes are the No. 70 Southeast, No. 71 North, No. 72 Southwest, No. 73 East, No. 74 Elm, No. 75 Northwest and the No. 76 North Jackson Express.

The Warren Express, which travels to Youngstown’s Federal Station, will continue running as well.

“Riders will be able to get to shopping centers, senior centers, hospitals and job centers, including destinations such as the Ultium Cells battery plant and the TJX Distribution Center,” a news release from WRTA states.

Both facilities are in Lordstown.

And in addition to those routes, the No. 81 Akron Express will debut. The Monday-to-Friday route will connect Federal Station to Akron Metro’s Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center, where riders can catch the Northcoast Express to a Cleveland route.

“The route was mainly designed to help veterans get to the (veterans) hospital in Cleveland, ” Harris said. “But it’s also useful for those riders who are looking to get to the Akron area for shopping or other activities.”

Akron Metro’s cost for the route to Cleveland is $5 for a one-way ticket, or $40 for 10 rides.

For more information about WRTA routes and schedules, visit WRTAonline.com.

In addition to WRTA’s fixed routes, Trumbull County is providing on-demand services primarily for people 60 and older and people with disabilities.

On-demand service is scheduled before the ride is needed and allows riders to select their pickup and dropoff locations within a certain range.

Contracts with four providers — Garwin Inc. of Youngstown, Mirkin and Associates / Comfort Care-A-Van of Youngstown, All American USA Taxi of Warren and Country Neighbor Inc. of Orwell — were approved by commissioners earlier this month.

The service begins Dec. 1, said Mike Salamone, transit administrator for Trumbull County.

There is $1.24 million in funds for the services, which should be enough for the program to run through October 2022. The Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities provided $200,000 and the county’s senior levy provided $450,00. The other funds come from federal grants.

Fares are $2. Seniors can register for the program through Salamone.

The funds the board of DD is providing will pay for several people served by the board to get to and from work, without a cost to them.

Meanwhile, county Commissioner Niki Frenchko is still asking her fellow commissioners to act on a proposal from earlier this year to join WRTA officially.

If commissioners were to vote to join WRTA, and complete the process, the board that oversees WRTA would place a transit levy on the ballot in Trumbull and Mahoning counties. If voters approved the measure, the sales tax would increase by 0.25 percent in Trumbull County and WRTA would raise approximately $6 million a year for public transit services.

At a recent meeting, Frenchko’s motion to join WRTA died for a lack of a second.

“Our tax base is declining because we have shrinkage in our population and a robust regional transit system will help retain our population and help grow our community, also increasing property values,” Frenchko said earlier this month.

“Has (population decline) stopped in Mahoning County? Their population continues to decrease and they’ve had WRTA for a long time,” Cantalamessa said.

Cantalamessa said the COVID-19 pandemic has skewed ridership demand figures, and commissioners need more data from the programs being implemented in December to get an accurate picture on whether there is enough demand for public transit in the county to make a $6-million annual tax worth it. If the numbers pan out, it could be worth reconsidering in the future, he said.

“We need to have hard numbers in order to do it,” Cantalamessa said.

Frenchko said the commissioners should vote to approve joining, and then let the voters choose “yes” or “no” by voting on the transit levy.

“Why don’t we just let the voters decide?” she said.