Slogan More than a ride! Headquarters Reading, Pennsylvania | Founded 1973 Service type public transit | |
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Service area Berks County, Pennsylvania Hubs BARTA Transportation Center
Reading, Pennsylvania | ||
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.
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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.
BARTA Transportation Center
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.
BARTA's fleet
BARTA's fleet consists of 52 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. The fleet consists of both 35 foot buses and 40 foot buses. 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.
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.
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.
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.