History

Public bus transportation in Butler City and Butler Township has a long history with many details but we’ll just give you a few highlights.

The Butler Transit Authority has its roots in the Renaissance Commission of the City of Butler in 1982. At that time, the mayor of Butler, Mr. Ronald Forcht, a large supporter of the downtown area, sought to revitalize and reincorporate bus service to generate economic growth in historic downtown Butler. Several attempts had been made by individuals to have a bus service. However, all had fallen through.

Using grant money from the federal government, the commission bought 2 or 3 buses. An outstanding group of volunteers ran the bus service until 1989 when the service became an authority. To make the service work as an authority, the City of Butler and Butler Township joined forces to create the Butler City-Township Joint Municipal Transit Authority.

The first executive director of the authority was Mr. Paul Domenick. He oversaw the operation of “The Bus” until 2000 when our current director Mr. John Paul took over. A plaque in memory of Mr. Paul Domenick and his contributions to “The Bus” is on display at the terminal.

The terminal has had many homes throughout the years. Among those locations in its past are the Morgan Parking Garage, the old Troutman’s building and 113 East Cunningham Street.

In October 2018, the bus terminal moved to its current residence at 128 West New Castle Street.

Four routes were originally created and continue to run to this day. Those routes have had slight changes over the years to accommodate the changes in the landscape of the city and township but continue to serve the same basic areas. The Express route began in the mid-to late-90’s to alleviate ridership on Route 1. In 2011, the Express Route was renamed Route 5.

In addition to the five local Butler routes, in December 2017, the Authority began its first commuter route in Pittsburgh. The route runs Route 8 to Route 28 in and out of Pittsburgh. In July 2018, the Authority added additional commuter runs between Butler and Pittsburgh via Route 68, I-79 and I-279.

As the Authority looks to the future, we hope to continue serving the community and all its needs.