SRTA tells Cumberland County finance panel it won $25M grant, plans transfer centers and asks for $300,000 local match

Rich Barb, a representative of the Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority, told the Cumberland County Finance Committee on Nov. 5 that SRTA is pursuing a three‑year service redesign centered on ‘‘high‑intensity mobility corridors’’ and major capital projects, and that the authority will need local matching funds to secure federal grants.

The initiative aims to concentrate resources on the busiest routes, increase frequency, improve stop infrastructure and use signal priority to shorten travel times and raise ridership. Barb said the concept grew from experiences elsewhere in SRTA’s service area: when frequency on a busy route was increased from 30 minutes to 15 minutes, “Ridership increased 18%, and the satisfaction from the riders really skyrocketed.”

Why it matters: SRTA said the redesign is intended to boost passengers per revenue hour — currently a limiting factor for revenue growth — and that new transfer centers are required to reduce wasted driver ‘deadhead’ time and enable more efficient cross‑river service. The authority reported success in a recent PennDOT five‑year performance review under Act 44 (2007), describing a nearly 10%…