Aug 10, 2003 5 min read

For Gloria Wilson of Uniontown, the ability to utilize handicapped accessible public transportation gives her the freedom that many people take for granted. While most of people can just go jump in a car and drive where they want to go, Wilson does not have that option.

A paraplegic who is confined to a wheelchair, Wilson relies on the reliability of the buses that are available through the Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation (FACT) system.

During a recent morning, Wilson boarded the Uniontown “A bus” on a trip to visit her mother. Since all of the 28-passenger buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts, getting Wilson on board only took a few extra minutes. The buses have enough space in the back to accommodate two wheelchairs.

Wilson, who lives at Confer Vista, was heading to the Poplar Lane Court residence of her mother because her sister was making a visit. She said that without the bus service she couldn’t travel very easily. With the bus, she can go to Wal-Mart to shop or go other places.

“I go different places. It just depends,” she said.

Although not handicapped, senior citizen Julia Zoldak also relies on the bus. A five-year rider, she said she rides all the time.

“These are lifesavers, these buses. Without them, I wouldn’t leave the house,” Zoldak said.

A former resident of the Heritage in downtown Uniontown, Zoldak is living at Meadow Heights on Beeson Boulevard until she can move back to her old apartment. She said without the buses, she wouldn’t leave the house because she can’t walk in the summer heat.

Since senior citizens ride for free, Zoldak said she can’t understand why more people don’t ride the bus.

“I don’t know why people feel useless. I don’t have time to waste my life,” Zoldak said.

She said she has been riding for about five years, and currently has two monthly passes.

Children under 12 also ride for free and students seeking higher education receive a discount.

The FACT buses aren’t just for the handicapped and elderly, though.

The public bus system, which recently expanded to include the areas of Perryopolis, Smithfield, Masontown, Point Marion and Fairchance in addition to the established routes of Connellsville, Uniontown, Brownsville and Hopwood, is available to everyone.

Fares are $1 for stops within a zone and 50 cents for traveling to additional zones. Bus passes are available for a rate of $35 per month.

According to Michelle Grant Shumar, head of the department of Human and Community Services and FACT, for the fiscal year 2000-01, the average monthly ridership before the expanded routes was 5,302 and for fiscal year 2001-02, the average monthly ridership was 4,910.

FACT general manager George Hardy recently undertook a fact-gathering campaign to seek areas with a need for public transportation prior to the expansion. With the buses heading to the new areas every day since July 1, all he needs now is riders.

For the established Uniontown routes, finding riders isn’t a problem. Dubbed the “party bus” by Hardy, a recent Friday late-morning ride on the “Uniontown A bus” featured riders of all ages.

In addition to Wilson and Zoldak, a group of elderly women, young parents and children were using the bus.

By law, small children who must sit in a car seat in a vehicle must also travel in a car seat on the bus.

Shawn, a McDonald’s employee who didn’t really want to be interviewed, said he uses the buses daily “just to go to work, to and from.”

Along the way through the city, patrons who lived on the route waved down the bus.

When the bus got filled, Hardy quickly stood up to allow for more room.

When Richard, the balding bus driver, stopped at a housing development, the woman and children who jumped on yelled out a friendly, “Hi, Bald Eagle,” to him.

Hardy said he wants to get the word out that the buses are not just for senior citizens or people with special needs; they are for everyone.

And with the new routes, riders can travel just about everywhere in the county that they need – or want – to go.

The flat-fronted public transit buses differ from the more traditionally looking buses that are used for other FACT programs.

Schedules for the buses are available at the FACT office in the public service building in downtown Uniontown.

Shumar said that what began as a coordinated transportation demonstration project has evolved into a full-fledged federally approved transit system.

She said the evolution of FACT marks a first for a transit organization in Pennsylvania to go from a demonstration model to federally approved status.

The county transit system started demonstration status in September 2000.

FACT also provides a shared-ride system, a medical assistance transportation program, special event transportation and a volunteer escort program.

For more information, call 724-430-4600 or 1-800-321-RIDE.