The River Valley Transit Authority (formerly the Williamsport Bureau of Transportation, and later River Valley Transit) is the public transit operator serving Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and surrounding Lycoming County.
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.jpg){kind=spacer} RVTA buses at Trade & Transit Centre | |
| Founded | August 8, 1969 July 1, 2022 (as RVTA) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1500 West Third Street |
| Locale | Williamsport, Pennsylvania |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Fuel type | Diesel CNG |
| Website | ridervt.com |
History
editIn 1969, the City of Williamsport acquired the privately-owned Williamsport Bus Company, using grant funding from the Urban Mass Transit Administration and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The resulting agency, the Williamsport Bureau of Transportation, began operations on August 8, 1969. The system served Williamsport alongside the surrounding communities of South Williamsport, Montoursville, Duboistown, Loyalsock, and Old Lycoming Township, which formed a partnership to contribute funding to the system.[1]
In 1980, the system rebranded its services as "City Bus," while the organization retained the name Williamsport Bureau of Transportation. City Bus began services to Muncy and Lycoming Mall in 1988, and began trolley service two years later.[1]
November 1999 saw the opening of the Joseph M. McDade Trade & Transit Centre, the system's main hub, built on the site of the former L.L. Stearns department store in downtown Williamsport.[1][2][3] The building has bus stop facilities on the ground floor, and also includes commercial offices and a performing arts center. A second building, dubbed Trade & Transit Centre II, opened next door in 2016.[1]
In 2005, the system was rebranded again as River Valley Transit.[1]
In 2011, RVT took over management of the Endless Mountains Transportation Authority, now known as BeST Transit, which operates in Bradford, Tioga, and Sullivan counties.[1][4]
On February 18, 2022, the Williamsport City Council voted to separate River Valley Transit from the city government, transferring it to a new, independent River Valley Transit Authority. The original RVT ceased operations on June 30, and the RVTA commenced operations the next day, July 1, 2022.[5]
Audits and grant funding investigation
editIn 2021, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced an investigation of RVT and the City of Williamsport, alleging misuse of state and federal grant funds from 2009 to 2019.[6] It was suspected that grant funding was used improperly to subsidize river cruise operator Hiawatha, Inc., among other misuses;[7] the city was then sent a letter by PennDOT to cease any potential use of transit dollars for ineligible non-transit related expenses.[8] The Federal Transit Administration also opened a "special review" into RVTA in November 2022.[9][10]
Also in 2021, River Valley Transit hired accounting firm RKL to perform RVT's annual financial audit. Their audit, presented to the City Council's finance committee in October 2021, found a number of financial inconsistencies and evidence of comingling of funds.[11] The auditors, however, could not get sufficient comfort from the information provided by Slaughter's administration. The nature of transactions they reviewed did not allow them to give clean financial statements.[12]
Operations
editFixed-route buses
editRVTA operates twenty fixed bus routes, all of which originate at the Trade & Transit Centre in downtown Williamsport.[1] Relative to Williamsport and the main bus station, the service area includes the boroughs of South Williamsport and Duboistown to the south; Woodward and Piatt Townships and the borough of Jersey Shore to the west; Old Lycoming Township, including Garden View and Grimesville, to the north; and Loyalsock Township, and the boroughs of Montoursville, Muncy, and Hughesville to the east, with Montgomery to the southeast.
Daytime bus service officially begins at 5:30 a.m., and continues until 7:00 p.m. After 7:00 p.m., the two Nightline buses provide service hourly as far east as the Lycoming Mall and as far west as the Reach Road industrial park. The 'late' bus provides outbound only service going west, and offers transportation to employees at the Reach Road Industrial Park at 11 p.m. Saturday services deviate from the weekday schedules on select routes. Fixed routes do not run on Sundays, except during the Little League World Series.
Routes
edit- Newberry via Fourth Street
- Montoursville
- Park Avenue - Garden View
- Loyalsock
- South Side - Duboistown
- South Side - Route 15
- East End - ManorCare
- East End - Eldred Street
- West Third Street - Industrial Park
- West Third Street - Newberry Estates
- Tri-Town Connector via Hughesville
- Tri-Town Connector via Montgomery
- Williamsport Regional Airport
- Vallamont
- Lycoming Mall
- Downtown Connector
- Jersey Shore Connector
- Valley View Connector
- Lysock View Express
- Super Nightline East
- Super Nightline West
- Penn College Shuttle
Paratransit
editRVTA also offers a paratransit service, River Valley Transit Plus. Service is offered to eligible passengers across a service area extending 3/4 of a mile from a fixed route.[13]
Fares
editCurrent as of October 2024[14] (fare information on page 5 of the Ride Guide)[15]
On the bus:
- $2.00 - 1-ride
- $2.50 - 1-Day EZ Fare pass/2-Ride Pass
EZ Fare passes purchased at the Trade & Transit Center or on the Token Transit App:
- $2.25 - 1-day
- $12.00- 7-day
- $40.00 - 31-day
- $12.00 - 10-ride
- $22.00 - 20-ride
- 3 for $5.00 - 1-ride tokens
Others:
- Transfers - FREE
- valid for (1) hour of boarding original bus in the same direction
- Children age 5 and under - FREE
- Youth age 17 and under - $1.00
- Seniors age 65 with ID - FREE
- Disabled (with ID) - $1.00
- Student (with ID) - $0.75 (school days only)
- Full-time Lycoming College and Pennsylvania College of Technology students ride for free at all times by showing valid college-issued ID.
Fleet
editCurrent fleet
editAs of March 2023.[16]
| Fleet # | Year | Make | Model | Length | Propulsion | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1107 | 2008 | Gillig | BRT | 40' | Diesel | Cummins ISL |
| 1108-1109 | 2008 | 35' | ||||
| 1201-1202 | 2011 | 40' | Diesel Electric | Cummins ISB6.7 | ||
| 1203 | 2011 | 35' | ||||
| 1204-1205 | 2012 | 35' | ||||
| 1206 | 2012 | 40' | ||||
| 1301 | 2012 | Gillig | BRT Plus | 40' | CNG | Cummins Westport ISL G |
| 1302 | 2013 | 40' | ||||
| 1303-1304 | 2013 | 35' | ||||
| 1305-1306 | 2016 | 35' | ||||
| 1307-1308 | 2017 | 35' | Cummins Westport L9N | |||
| 1309-1310 | 2017 | 40' | ||||
| 1311-1314 | 2018 | 35' | ||||
| 1315-1318 | 2018 | 40' | ||||
| 1319-1320 | 2019 | 35' | ||||
| 1321-1322 | 2019 | 40' | ||||
| 1323 | 2022 | 35' | ||||
| 1324 | 2022 | 40' | ||||
| 1402-1403 | 2021 | 29' | ||||
| 1404-1405 | 2022 | 29' |
Previous Fleet
edit| Manufacture | Model | Length | Seats | Bus Numbers | Retirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCI | 501 | 2007 January | |||
| GMC | RTS-06 | 35 ft | 502 | 2009 Summer | |
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-06 | 40 ft | 602 | 2009 Summer | |
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-06 | 35 ft | 603 | unknown | |
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-06 | 35 ft | 604 | 2009 Summer | |
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-06 | 35 ft | 704-705 | 2007 January | |
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-06 | 40 ft | 601 | ||
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-06 | 35 ft | 32 | 701, 702, 706 | |
| New Flyer Industries | D40LF | 40 ft | 39 | 801-803 | |
| Chance Coach | RT-52 | 805, 806, 809, 810 | |||
| Transportation Manufacturing Corporation | RTS-08 | 35 ft | 807, 808 | ||
| New Flyer Industries | D35LF | 35 ft | 29 | 901, 902, 905, 906 | |
| Optima | Opus | 30 ft | 903, 904 | ||
| Optima | Opus | 35 ft | 907, 908 | ||
| Freightliner | van | 909, 910 | |||
| Gillig | BRT | 35 ft | 1101–1103 | ||
| Gillig | BRT | 40 ft | 1104–1106, 1201 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Lycoming County Ride Guide (PDF). Vol. 10. River Valley Transit. 2019-08-01.
- ^ Fischer, William Jr. (2018-06-22). "Trade & Transit Centre Site History Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Mariner, Cosmo (2021-07-22). "Joseph M. McDade Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Maroney, Mark (2020-07-22). "City approves $91K agreement with Endless Mountains Transportation Authority". Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
- ^ Maroney, Mark (2022-02-18). "River Valley Transit Authority created". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ "City Hall staff: River Valley Transit under investigation". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Reiner, Anne (2021-12-21). "'Conflict of interest': Williamsport connection to Hiawatha, employee compensation raises questions". On the PULSE. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Keating, Chris (2021-12-01). "PennDOT orders Williamsport to stop misusing transportation funds". WNEP.
- ^ McGlynn, Rayna (2022-12-08). "RVTA, City of Williamsport under Federal investigation". WOLF. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ Pauling, Carrie (2022-12-08). "Williamsport, RVTA under investigation by Federal Transit Administration". NorthcentralPA.com.
- ^ Pauling, Carrie (2021-10-19). "Evidence of fraud: River Valley Transit audit uncovers 'inconsistencies'". NorthcentralPA.com.
- ^ Maroney, Mark (2021-10-20). "Auditors, Williamsport mayor: River Valley Transit finances 'alarming'". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ "River Valley Transit Plus". River Valley Transit Authority. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ^ "River Valley Transit: Ride Guide 2024" (PDF). www.ridervt.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-07-19. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "EZ Fares & Passes - River Valley Transit Authority". ridervt.com. Archived from the original on 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "River Valley Transit". CPTDB Wiki. Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board. Retrieved 2023-03-27.