About Us
The Washington County Transportation Authority was created by the Washington County Commissioners in April of 2001. The organization was brought into being for the specific purpose of directing and managing the human service transportation programs previously overseen by the County’s Department of Human Services and managed by a private broker.
The Authority is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors who are appointed by the Washington County Commissioners.
Since the Authority’s creation, many improvements to the shared-ride transportation have been made in an effort to provide a higher quality service to its passengers. These changes include:
- Implementation of Door-to-Door service
- Establishing a formal customer complaint policy that includes an effort to investigate and resolve every complaint.
- A commitment to conduct on-street monitoring of service, maintaining contact with both passengers and agency personnel
- Monitoring the on-time performance levels of its subcontractors
- Development of the brand name “Washington Rides,” giving the Authority a recognizable visual image in the community
- Acquiring a significant number of accessible vehicles to better meet the needs of our passengers
- Simplification of fares moving from a grid-based system to a mileage-based structure
- Expanding the hours when reservations can be made
- Expanding the hours of service providing for evening and Saturday service
- Acquiring an Automatic Vehicle Location System for use by the Authority’s subcontractors
Currently, the Authority provides an average of 1,000 one-way trips a day. Excluding Allegheny County and the Philadelphia Area, we are the fifth largest shared-ride provider in the state of Pennsylvania.