Amtran has adjusted part of its recently created Northern Blair County route to eliminate stops in Snyder Township, because the Snyder supervisors have declined to pay the local share that state and federal law require Amtran to charge for service — based on the funding that Amtran receives from those sources.

The amount for this year for the Monday-through-Saturday service would have been $2,700, said Amtran CEO Josh Baker.

“At this point in time, we decided not to put any money towards that,” said Snyder Supervisor Jim Burket, who guessed that there might be one or two township residents who might have used the service. “If we had more Snyder residents that required this, I’m sure it would be reconsidered.”

Amtran launched its Northern Blair route in 2023 as a pilot that didn’t require municipalities to pay a local share, but starting at the beginning of this year, the route became a regular service feature, triggering the local share requirement, Baker said.

On the state level, the match requirement is set by Title 74, which governs allocation of funds for transit operations, according to online sources.

The law requires municipalities to make cash contributions that collectively amount to 15% as much as the state provides to transit agencies, according to a state government fact sheet. PennDOT oversees the process, based on Act 44 of 2007, according to the fact sheet.

The Federal Transit Administration oversees the federal requirement, according to Baker.

About 20 years ago, Duncansville opted not to pay its local transit match, which meant that Amtran had to eliminate stops in that municipality, said Baker, who didn’t work for the authority then.

The other three municipalities that have Northern Blair stops — Bellwood, Antis Township and Tyrone — have opted to pay their local shares, Baker said.

“We would love to continue to provide service (to Snyder),” Baker said.

But the supervisors there need to “make the right decisions for their constituents,” he said.

The most significant stop that had to be eliminated was one in front of Penn Highlands Tyrone hospital, which is in Snyder, not far from Tyrone Area High School, Baker said. There were also stops eliminated on East Pleasant Valley Boulevard.

The township has received two complaint calls, one from a Tyrone resident who uses the bus to go to a Tyrone location, and so shouldn’t be inconvenienced; and another that came in as a conference call, which makes its authenticity dubious, according to Burket.

There were no complaints from people who would no longer have access, according to Baker.

The Amtran service in the Tyrone area doesn’t seem very popular according to Burket.

“I walk around the Tyrone area quite a bit,” the supervisor said. “I see this busload of air.” He also rarely sees people boarding or getting off at stops, he said.

Area residents are already overburdened by taxes, according to Burket.

“We pride ourselves on taking care of the residents and keeping (taxes) to a minimum,” he said.

The Northern Blair route has provided 5,612 rides between July 1 of last year and the end of April, Baker said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.