photo by: Craig Howell

The Weirton Transit Corp. Board of Trustees met Wednesday, agreeing to continue the process of dissolving the private board which has overseen public transit in the city for more than 30 years. Weirton Council last week agreed to transition transit services into a city department.

One week after city council agreed to transition public transit services into a municipal department, the Weirton Transit Board of Trustees met and agreed to continue with the planned dissolution of the private, non-profit organization which has overseen the bus service since it began in the 1980s.

The WTC board convened for its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, almost immediately going into a 56-minute executive session to discuss legal matters, and then holding a formal vote to continue with the dissolution process the board began in June.

“The board is doing its part to provide its pieces of the puzzle,” board Chair Flora Perrone explained following Wednesday’s meeting, noting there is still a great deal of work before the Weirton Transit Corp. is officially dissolved.

Weirton Council voted Oct. 10 to transition Weirton Transit’s bus services into a municipal department, with an operational structure still to be determined. The ordinance authorizing the transition, which was passed unanimously on emergency reading, was to become effective Nov. 1.

The decision to dissolve the private transit provider and have the city absorb operations follows approximately two years of chaos surrounding Weirton Transit, which started with the discovery in the fall of 2021 of various financial issues, including approximately $125,000 in unpaid taxes and penalties.

After working for more than a year to pay off that obligation, officials in June announced Weirton Transit was running low on funds and had to eliminate routes in order to continue operating. That same month, the board of trustees voted to begin the process of dissolution.

“We know we’re no longer capable of providing the service to the citizens,” Perrone said.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation in recent months has been providing consultants to assist with the transition.