Westmoreland Transit Authority gets free bus in need of a paint job - TribLIVE

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The Westmoreland Transit Authority got a free bus to add to its fleet — the only question is what kind of paint job it should have. The 30-foot diesel bus originally belonged to the Crawford Area Transportation Authority, where it was going unused. Crawford Area donated the bus to Westmoreland County.

The new bus won’t run every day. Instead it will be used as a spare for the authority’s local transit service, according to Executive Director Alan Blahovec.

“We could use a few spare smaller buses,” Blahovec said. “The way our service runs now, we’re kind of limited.”

A 30-foot bus can navigate smaller communities more easily than full-sized commuter buses, he said.

The new bus is still adorned with the Crawford Area Transportation Authority’s name, logo and phone number, along with a red and white color scheme. The authority this week discussed how to re-brand the vehicle with the green, white and purple colors of Westmoreland County’s other buses.

It would cost an estimated $9,500 to fully wrap the bus with the Westmoreland Transit Authority’s branding.

“I don’t know if it’s worth $9,500,” said Frank Tosto, chairman of the authority’s board of directors.

The board briefly entertained an offer from Billboards on Wheels, the company that handles bus advertising for the authority. The Irwin company offered to add the authority’s logo to the bus in exchange for using the bus to advertise Billboards on Wheels.

Board members decided against this option.

“What’s the benefit to us?” Tosto asked. “I don’t really see anything.”

Board member Roderick Booker said it’s important that the new bus look similar to others in the fleet.

“I like to see consistency,” he said. “To me it just breaks up what we already have. We’ve got a unique-looking bus, with unique lettering and everything, and I think that’s important.”

The board agreed to look into several options for branding the bus, whether as a full wrap or a cheaper paint job. A decision will be made at a future meeting.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jacob at 724-836-6646, jtierney@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Local | Westmoreland