A group seeking to restore public transportation to the Valley is growing in membership and fervency, an area official says.

The 6-month-old North Central Pennsylvania Public Transportation Task Force is drawing representatives, including Keri Albright, executive director of the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way, from at least eight counties.

"This," Albright said of the task force's mission, "is a priority for the United Way."

It is also important for much of the Valley, which has been lacking public transportation since Rohrer Bus Co. discontinued its hourly shuttle between Selinsgrove and Sunbury in May 2004.

Since then, only taxis and subsidized, on-demand services for senior citizens and handicapped people have been available.

Albright, the original leader of the task force and current vice chair, said the group last month submitted a $100,000 grant application to the state Department of Transportation. The funds would pay for a feasibility study to gauge public transportation demand in Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Snyder and Union counties, among others.

"I think this has got legs," Albright said. "We've got momentum."

The lack of public transportation limits opportunities for the elderly, as well as for young people, Albright said.

"If a kid who lives out on Route 890 (near Sunbury) can't get to the YMCA because he or she doesn't drive, they can't take advantage of it," she said. "Someone who lives in McClure may not be able to use the (Middlecreek Area Community Center in Beaver Springs) because they can't get there."

At each of the six task force meetings since September, more people are attending and want to get involved, Albright said.

"We're trying to get the various interest groups and agencies to work together," Albright said. "This is a regional issue that crosses county lines."

Among those agencies is the Union-Snyder Transportation Alliance, a task force member that provides limited bus service in the region.

USTA is an on-demand service, not a fixed-route system, says alliance administrator Cindy Zerbe. Vehicles shuttle passengers between their homes and destinations.

Because several state and federal agencies subsidize transportation for various groups of people at differing rates, coordinating and scheduling service is difficult, Zerbe said. Each agency has its own requirements for its users, as well as differing levels of service it will reimburse.

For Zerbe, the most important question is how to fill the empty seats in her buses.

"Because of the way we are subsidized for operations," she said, "the general public can't ride at affordable rates."

Riders over age 65 are subsidized by state lottery proceeds, while other assistance agencies provide varying levels of financial aid to their clients.

Zerbe said there must be a practical way to integrate public transportation with services like hers to benefit both, but she knows there are limitations.

"To receive state funding for such a system, it would have to meet productivity and performance standards," Zerbe said. "There also must be a local commitment in the form of matching funds."

USTA has 30 vehicles in its fleet, Zerbe said, ranging from a four-passenger minivan to 20-passenger buses. On an average day, about 20 of those vehicles are on the road.

USTA's 2009 budget is $1.45 million, Zerbe said, and it expects to have about 92,000 passengers this year, up from 90,000 last year.

Ridership has changed over the years, Zerbe said. It used to be people going to the senior citizen centers five days a week, but it has evolved to more elderly and frail people going to doctor and hospital visits.

"They need more services," she said.

The other change involves mentally or physically challenged people using the transportation alliance to reach jobs at workshops around the region. Those people now make up about 60 percent of USTA's patrons.

Zerbe has worked closely with task force members in adjoining counties, so that her passengers are able to change vans at designated points to ride to appointments in Lewistown and Mount Carmel.

She also received authorization for USTA buses to travel directly to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

The other option for those who are unable or can't afford to drive is taxi service.

Carl Hovenstine, vice president of Paul's Cab Service in Sunbury, said he's noticed an increase in cash calls from people going to the grocery store, the mall and area hospitals.

Paul's has a contract with Northumberland County to transport foster grandparents to schools and day care centers and others to grocery stores and doctor appointments, he said.

"We carry in Sunbury, Selinsgrove, Northumberland and the townships around them," Hovenstine said. "Our business is pretty steady, day to day."

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