Altoona Metro Transit Authority Board recognizes 2 drivers

Beach, Silva competed in Bus Roadeo

The Altoona Metro Transit Authority Board commended two drivers, Joe Beach and Jose Silva, who recently competed in the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association Bus Roadeo during its meeting Wednesday.

The annual competition took place Aug. 9 in Williamsport, bringing together top fixed route and shared ride operators from transit agencies across the commonwealth to showcase their skills, professionalism and commitment to safety.

Beach took first place in the fixed route division and will advance to a national competition in Seattle later this year, an honor he's had about three or four times throughout his career with Amtran, officials said. Silva took fourth place honors.

"It was a great job that they both had done," said Amtran general manager Michele Barns, who thanked transportation director Don Gallice for volunteering to serve on the committee that oversees the competition.

"There are several staff members throughout the state from different transit organizations that participate and make it possible for our bus operators," Barns said.

In a statement, Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association Executive Director Kim Whetsell said Pennsylvania's transit operators connect people to work, school, healthcare and the services they depend on every day.

"They are the face of public transportation in our communities, and this competition recognizes the professionalism, skill and commitment they bring to that responsibility," Whetsell said.

Ridership up

From April 1 to June 30, Amtran's total ridership was 124,915, which is a 3.14% increase from the same timeframe in 2025, Operations Director Tom Dean said.

With the fiscal year 2025-26, ridership totaled 513,526 -- an increase of 4.4% from 2024-25, he said.

Amtran's current on-time performance is about 83%, which is slightly below where officials want it to be, but it's not bad overall, Dean said.

Board Chairman Larry Bilotto asked Dean how a 4.4% increase measures up with other transit agencies throughout the state. Dean said it depends, noting some percentages are rising while others are falling.

A 4.4% increase is generally a higher percentage than most agencies across the state are seeing, Dean said, noting transit systems in other parts of the commonwealth with ridership numbers in the millions don't have as high of a percentage.

Human services Director Betsy Randazzo said Amtran recently hired one bus operator and one part-time morning dispatcher. Both have completed necessary training and are doing well in their roles, she said.

Amtran is still looking to hire one more bus operator and one mechanic, according to Randazzo.

Barns said Amtran had back-to-back reviews, which were "pretty difficult" to get through as a lot of the documentation was previously managed by staff members who are no longer there.

PennDOT was on site in July to look at Amtran's facilities and maintenance plan, while the Federal Transit Administration was there this month, performing an annual review.

All in all, with the new administrative team in place, the reviews went "very, very well," Barns said.

The board approved minutes of its previous meeting as well as its standard monthly reports during the meeting.

One of the few business items discussed involved the disposing of three buses, which officials had been working to get rid of for the past year, Barns said, noting three new buses were ordered to replace them in June 2025.

Officials were under the impression the buses could be donated, but since federal funds were used to purchase the buses, they have to post them in an online auction, Barns said.

Board member Bob Baranik asked where the financial gain of selling the buses at auction will go. Barns said anything over $5,000 would have to be returned to the Federal Transit Administration.

If the amount received is lower, meaning Amtran wouldn't owe the Federal Transit Administration anything, the monies would be distributed to its operating fund, Chief Financial Officer Katie Vescovi said.

The board held an executive session to discuss informational items prior to adjourning.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.