Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority

Berks Area Regional
Transportation Authority

BARTA bus in downtown Reading.
Slogan	More than a ride!
Founded	1973[1]
Headquarters	Reading, Pennsylvania
Service area	Berks County, Pennsylvania
Service type	public transit
Hubs	BARTA Transportation Center Reading, Pennsylvania
Fleet	50 buses
Fuel type	Diesel, hybrid diesel electric
Website	www.bartabus.com

Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA), previously Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority, is a public transportation system serving the city of Reading and its surrounding area of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Dennis D. Louwerse, the long-time executive director/CEO at BARTA, died on Thursday, September 5, 2013 at the age of 68. He became the executive director at BARTA in 1983, and he was the executive director for 30 years until his death in 2013. David W. Kilmer is currently the executive director at BARTA and Red Rose Transit Authority.^[2]

History

BARTA was created with the cooperation of the Berks County and the City of Reading in 1973 to purchase the failing Reading Bus Company. In 2010, BARTA became a county authority, overseen by the County of Berks, reflecting its focus on regionalism instead of centralism on the city of Reading.^[3]

BARTA Transportation Center

The Reading Franklin Street train terminal was converted to a bus terminal in 2013. Buses enter from Cherry Street.

The BARTA Transportation Center opened in 2002, and is located at 7th and Cherry Streets, in Downtown Reading. The transit center is where all routes connect. The former Reading Railroad Franklin Street Station was refurbished and reopened to bus service on September 9, 2013.^[3]

BARTA's fleet

BARTA's fleet consists of 50 buses, consisting primarily of Gillig BRT buses. 30 of them are 35 foot buses, and the remaining 20 are 40 foot buses. BARTA's fixted route fleet was mostly buses powered by Detroit Diesel engines until the production of the Detroit Diesel Series 50 was cut in late 2004. Then BARTA ordered their 05, 07 and 08 Gillig BRTs with Cummins ISL. The first 2 digits of the bus numbers indicate the year the bus was ordered. Even in the 2000s and 2010s. All of BARTA's buses from 2010 and earlier are equipped with Allison Transmissions, and all of them have Bendix air brakes. As of 2009, BARTA has received 40 foot Gillig BRT hybrid electric buses, which use the Cummins ISB engine. In 2009 and 2010, BARTA received 9 Gillig BRT hybrids with the Allison EP-40 hybrid drive system. As of 2015, BARTA has received additional Gillig BRT hybrids, which are series hybrids equipped with BAE Systems HybriDrive Series-E.^[4]

Current fleet

Current Routes

BARTA operates most of its present route network on a hub and spoke type system, in which most passengers transfer between routes at a central location, the BARTA Transportation Center.^[5]

Cooperation with other agencies

As of September 9, 2013, BARTA has expanded its service on a trial basis to Lebanon with connecting service on Lebanon Transit to Harrisburg. This service replaced previously abandoned coach service operated by Bieber Tourways, on July 1, 2013.^[6]

BARTA discontinued its service to Lebanon on January 31, 2014 due to low ridership.

Paratransit

The BARTA Special Services Division provides Shared Ride bus service offering consolidated trips between customers’ origins and destinations that are not well served by fixed route bus service. Often referred to as “Paratransit,” Shared Ride operates during limited hours and specific travel areas.^[7]

Current fleet

Park and Ride Locations

• FirstEnergy Stadium (Route 19)
• Hamburg (Route 20)
• Leesport (Route 20)
• Shelbourne Square (Exeter Township) (Route 8)
• Womelsdorf (Route 14)

References

External links

• BARTAs official website
• BARTA photo gallery

Mass transit in the Delaware Valley
Transit buses	SEPTA Philadelphia Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties Krapf's Transit Philadelphia PHLASH Pottstown Pottstown Area Rapid Transit Reading Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority West Chester-Coatesville-Exton-Downingtown Transportation Management Association of Chester County NJ Transit Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County suburban service Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County local service Atlantic and Cape May County local service Long-distance local routes from Philadelphia Long-distance routes from Atlantic City DART First State Kent County New Castle County
Commuter rail	SEPTA Regional Rail Airport Line Chestnut Hill East Line Chestnut Hill West Line Cynwyd Line Fox Chase Line Lansdale/Doylestown Line Manayunk/Norristown Line Media/Elwyn Line Paoli/Thorndale Line Trenton Line Warminster Line West Trenton Line Wilmington/Newark Line NJ Transit Atlantic City Line
Rapid transit and light rail	SEPTA Broad Street Line Market–Frankford Line Norristown High Speed Line Subway–Surface trolleys Route 15 Routes 101 and 102 Delaware River Port Authority PATCO Speedline NJ Transit River Line Proposed Schuylkill Valley Metro (cancelled) Greenline (cancelled) Glassboro–Camden Line Camden-Philadelphia BRT