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Committee welcomes transportation updates, new member

More than half of River Valley Transit’s 33 buses now run on compressed natural gas, putting Williamsport in the running to become the second Pennsylvania city with a bus system that runs solely on compressed natural gas, Kevin Kilpatrick, River Valley Transit planning manager, told local transportation leaders Thursday.

Those leaders included STEP Inc.’s Dan Merk, Steve Herman of the SEDA-Council of Governments, John Lavelle, county transportation planner, and Mark Murawski, county transportation supervisor, all members of the Williamsport Area Transportation Study Transit Advisory Committee.

Upgrading from diesel to compressed natural gas costs about $48,000 per bus, Kilpatrick said.

A $200,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection last year paid for 50 percent of the upgrade to compressed natural gas for 10 buses. River Valley Transit hopes to receive the grant again, he said.

Adding a 45-seater bus used for special events, there are 19 total compressed natural gas buses, he added.

“CNG buses still get about the same amount of gas mileage, if not a hair less, but when you go to fill it up … it’s half the cost,” Kilpatrick said. “And I’d rather pay the people working in our county than pay foreign oil to give me my gas.”

In another issue, new routes in Clinton County, specifically to and from Lock Haven and Lock Haven University, are becoming more widely used as time goes by, Kilpatrick said.

“I think it’ll be a great opportunity for people to commute not only from Hughesville, Muncy, Williamsport, Jersey Shore to Lock Haven University, but also students in the Lock Haven area who want to come to Penn College,” he said.

The service, which began in March, is financed by a demonstration grant and will continue to be for the next three years, Kilpatrick said. There are certain standards River Valley Transit needs to meet with the service. If it does so, the service will qualify for state funding in the future as well.

“If, after three years, it doesn’t meet the standards that we have set, then … it probably won’t continue to go on because it would be too costly for the local shares,” he said.

In another matter, the committee welcomed Shawn Starr, manager of the Short Term Supports and Services Departments at the Center for Independent Living, as a representative for transit users with disabilities.

Starr suffered a medical emergency several years ago that left speech nearly impossible for her, and also has difficulty hearing.

“I know the obstacles that people with disabilities face with transportation,” she said, using a computer program that reads aloud whatever she types. “I’m hoping I will be able to bring that insight into these meetings and help in whatever way I can.”

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m., tentatively, on Oct. 11, location pending.

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