Westmoreland County Transit Authority accepts commuter bus from River Valley

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority will add another commuter bus to its lineup.

The River Valley Transit Authority, based in Williamsport, reached out about transferring a 2015 commuter bus it purchased with the help of grant funding, Westmoreland County Transit Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said.

The vehicle seats 53 passengers and has only 64,000 miles on it.

“It’s almost brand new,” Blahovec said, estimating commuter buses cost close to $1 million.

The transit authority has 25 commuter buses in its fleet.

The authority also passed a resolution this week affirming state rules for the number of hours drivers can work in a day.

The authority’s drivers never come close to the limit, said Blahovec. But the state Department of Transportation has noticed agencies failing to comply with the guidelines.

“The problem is I would say recently, PennDOT realized some agencies appear to not be aware that this rule was in effect,” Blahovec said. “Instead of just issuing (a statement), they asked that we adopt a policy to make it a little more formal.”

An hours of service policy approved by the state Department of Transportation in 2013 limited drivers to shifts no longer than 18 hours, Blahovec said. This was scaled back to 16 hours a few years later.

Drivers also need to have at least eight hours off between work days and cannot work more than 30 hours in two consecutive days, Blahovec said.

Westmoreland drivers never reach those levels, Blahovec said, as the authority has an 11-hour shift limit with a 9-hour break between work days. Those working a morning and night shift in the same day are entitled to an hour break in between.

If employees work a second driving job, they are required to report their hours from their other position to the transit authority, Blahovec said.

“I never want to see anyone working 16 hours a day,” he said.