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For years, the Ohio Valley Regional Transit Authority essentially ran giant buses in endless circles around the greater Wheeling area. If your community approved a levy for a bus run, you would get service. A bus would leave downtown Wheeling, travel to stops in your community, and then return downtown. If your community didn't have a levy, then it didn't receive direct bus service.
That system may have worked at one time -- at least to an extent. However, as agencies such as the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles consolidated offices into regional facilities such as that found in Moundsville, and WVU Medicine expanded into the region and started offering specialized services at WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital along with WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, it became clear there needed to be a change in thinking.
Thankfully, that happened just recently, as the OVRTA board made permanent daily runs to the DMV office in Moundsville and to WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital. New leadership and a new approach from the board following a public meeting last year now has its members possibly thinking more about where riders need to go, as opposed to just servicing areas with a levy. It's a marked change that is very welcome for an area such as ours, where options to get places without a car are in short supply.
It's also good to note that the city of Moundsville is considering a new levy for OVRTA service in that community. A public meeting is being planned for August to address the issue.
It's important that public transportation continues to serve the public's needs. OVRTA would be wise to hold regular meetings with stakeholders to ensure it is doing everything possible to get residents where they need to be.