From a financial standpoint, the Snyder Township supervisors appear to have made the right decision in refusing to pay $2,700 this year for Amtran bus service in that municipality.

If the supervisors’ information is correct, the service, provided since 2023 under a pilot format, did not attract enough riders to justify the outlay.

Jim Burket, a Snyder supervisor, said “I see this busload of air,” adding that he rarely saw people boarding or exiting a bus at the Amtran stops.

The Amtran service in the Tyrone area doesn’t seem very popular, Burket said.

Meanwhile, the bus-related financial assessment for Snyder Township, as well as a similar assessment for Bellwood and Tyrone boroughs and Antis Township, also part of Amtran’s Northern Blair County route, became effective because the northern route was required to shed its pilot status.

The route has become a regular service feature under state and federal rules that mandate a local contribution.

According to an article in the Mirror’s May 23 edition, the requirement is that municipalities agreeing to receive regular service make cash contributions that collectively amount to 15% as much as the state provides to their transit agencies.

Bellwood and Tyrone boroughs and Antis Township, all of which agreed to pay an assessment, will provide the 15% in question.

Snyder’s supervisor Burket guessed that there might have been only one or two township residents who might have used the Amtran service.

When a service is not used, there is no justifiable reason for having it in existence, even though, of course, a handful of people might be inconvenienced.

Those individuals have the option of seeking transportation to the nearest bus stop in one of the neighboring municipalities, although for some that, unfortunately, might be impossible.

The bottom line, therefore, is that if Burket’s estimate is accurate, there are no grounds for criticizing the Snyder supervisors’ decision.

Burket said Snyder’s supervisors pride themselves day-to-day on keeping taxes to a minimum. That’s the right attitude as long as a decision, on whatever topic might be under consideration, doesn’t risk coming back later to haunt the township.

From a financial standpoint, it does not seem like this one will.

However, as it is in all other municipalities, the voters will be the ultimate judges of the soundness of their elected officials’ decision making — in this instance on whether the bus service should have been retained.

The $2,700 assessment is not a lot of money for large municipalities, but money of that amount usually is significant for places operating on much smaller budgets.

In Snyder’s case, the township supervisors should continue to monitor the issue of bus-service interest since, as the May 23 Mirror article noted, Amtran “would love to continue to provide service” to Snyder.

According to Amtran CEO Josh Baker, the Northern Blair route, during the pilot-program period of

July 1, 2024, through the end of April, provided 5,612 rides.

That’s not a huge number, all considered, but it demonstrates that there is a need for the service in the area in question. Hopefully, in the year ahead, ridership will increase significantly.

“If we had more Snyder residents that required this (service), I’m sure it would be reconsidered,” Burket said.

For example, will next winter help show a stepped-up need that the past winter didn’t?

That cannot be predicted now, but various ridership factors need to be monitored as the months and seasons change.