Heritage Celebrates 25 Years of Transit Service

Braddock agency runs scheduled bus routes in 16 Mon Valley communities

By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
July 16, 2024
Posted in: Announcements

Pupils from Heritage Community Initiatives’ out-of-school programs sing “The Wheels on the Bus” for guests and local community leaders. (Photo courtesy City of McKeesport, Office of Mayor Michael Cherepko)

The only non-profit social-service organization in Pennsylvania that provides public transit celebrated its 25th year of service to the Mon Valley by announcing new vehicles, new rider amenities and more.

At a celebration on Tuesday in Braddock, Heritage Community Initiatives announced that Saturday service has been restored on its East Pittsburgh route and that buses will be equipped with wi-fi.

In addition, riders can now request flag stops at locations along the route where buses otherwise do not stop, and a new mobile app will debut later this year.

Joining Heritage staff members for Tuesday’s event were a variety of community leaders and elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Swissvale and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.

A chorus of children who participate in Heritage’s out-of-school programs also sang “The Wheels on the Bus.”

The enhancements come after two years of analysis conducted with the help of Carnegie Mellon University, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the Whitehouse Group, and other agencies and consultants.

Heritage Community Initiatives, formerly known as Heritage Health Foundation, was created following the sale of Braddock Medical Center to UPMC. Heritage Community Transportation is a program of the parent organization.

The transportation service began as a shuttle that connected three local public housing communities — in East Pittsburgh, Braddock and Clairton — to the 59A bus route, and has expanded.

Today, HCT buses connect to multiple Pittsburgh Regional Transit routes, serving neighborhoods in McKeesport, North Versailles Twp., and other communities that would otherwise not have public transportation.

All fares cost 25 cents for adults and are free for children 5 and under, or for seniors 65 and older with a Medicare card or state-issued transit pass.

Three Heritage bus routes, which use the North Versailles Twp. Wal-Mart as a hub, operate Monday through Saturday:

• McKeesport: Also serving Port Vue, Liberty, East McKeesport and Oak Park Mall

• East Pittsburgh: Also serving Swissvale, Braddock, North Braddock, Forest Hills, East Pittsburgh and Penn Center in Wilkins Twp.

• Monroeville: Also serving Pitcairn, Wall and Wilmerding

Heritage’s fixed-route transit service supports low-income families and individuals without access to a vehicle in 16 communities. A spokesperson said about 70 percent of riders have an average annual household income of under $20,000.

Most riders — about 60 percent — use HCT buses for daily work commutes. Since its inception, the agency said, HCT has completed over 1.6 million rides.

In addition to transit, Heritage Community Initiatives provides early learning and out-of-school programs to at-risk students in eastern Allegheny County.

For the upcoming year, the agency said, Heritage is reorganizing its education programs to streamline operations and serve additional students.

“We recognize the critical importance of early education and out-of-schooltime programs, and are fortunate to have highly dedicated teachers, 17 percent of whom have been with us for a decade,” said Paula McWilliams, president and CEO of Heritage Community Initiatives.

“To continue providing unparalleled access to top-quality academic, behavioral and social support for our students, we must also provide additional professional development support to maintain and grow the qualifications of our teaching staff,” she said. “We are taking a vocational approach and will work with every teacher to establish a career pathway by providing daily, one-on-one, in-person coaching, mentoring, support, and access to customized resources.”

The organization is currently renovating space for new offices at 800 Braddock Ave., in a space that had once been a Neisner Brothers’ variety store and later was an Autenreith’s Dollar Store.

Heritage has served more than 8,000 children residing in 22 communities who have benefitted through its Heritage 4 Kids Early Learning Center and Heritage Out of School Time, or HOST, programs.

Both the early learning center and HOST have been recognized with four-star awards from the state Department of Education’s Keystone STARS program for more than 10 years.

Heritage said that 98 percent of school-age children using its services meet or exceed expectations for fine motor skills, cognitive development and socio-emotional development, while 93 percent of early learners (birth to 5 years) meet or exceed expectations for physical development, mathematics, social-emotional development, cognitive development, literacy and language.

Most of the pupils served by Heritage — 92 percent — are from households where their parent or guardian works one or more jobs, but earns an average income of $30,000 or less.

McWilliams said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for Heritage’s services has increased. More than 100 children are currently on a waiting list for pre-kindergarten programs, she said. The agency is establishing a new approach to accommodate more infants and toddlers. The HOST program is also being redesigned to be more adaptable.

“This new strategic approach and framework demonstrate our commitment to supporting our staff and the children we serve year-round from birth through pre-K and adolescence,” McWilliams said in a statement. “We want to ensure that affordable options for quality education remain within reach for area families.”

(Courtesy Heritage Community Initiatives)

Originally published July 16, 2024.

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