Westmoreland Transit hits bus operator with more fines worth $60K

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority has issued nearly $60,000 in new fines against the Ohio-based company hired to operate the agency’s fixed-route and paratransit systems.

The fines were imposed for a series of maintenance failures, route delays and supervisory and driver vacancies that have impacted both services, officials said.

The authority in October announced it had started to fine National Express Transit as part new contracts signed last spring. Under terms of the five-year, $39 million contract, the authority can assess damages to National Express for failing to meet required standards of service. The authority previously fined National Express $24,000.

The new sanctions were for failures in October and November.

“I guess we got their attention,” said Authority board Chairman Frank Tosto. “We can hit them in their pocketbooks to get their attention, and we’re enforcing that.”

National Express operates the authority’s fleet of 40 buses used on its local and commuter routes as part of the fixed-route service. It also operates the 50 vans and buses that are used on the authority’s shared-ride paratransit program.

Authority officials said maintenance issues of those vehicles have caused routes to be delayed and canceled as well as paratransit trips to be missed. While driver shortages have been corrected, more are being sought, according to officials.

During a meeting in October with the authority board, company officials conceded that issues had plagued the transit service and said work was ongoing to correct the failures.

Bill Steinmetz, the Westmoreland County-based general manager for National Express, said last week that the company will not contest the latest round of fines.

“We’re working every day to alleviate the issues,” Steinmetz said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a
Tribune-Review staff writer.
You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.