Contributed NEW LOOK — Plans call for all Weirton Ride buses to eventually adopt this color scheme and design. The new theming is part of a rebranding for the local transit service now operated by the City of Weirton.

WEIRTON — The city’s Transit Department wants to take residents on a ride.

After transitioning into a department of the city of Weirton last year, the local transit service, previously operated by Weirton Transit Corp., has been working on a new look and new identity.

“We actually started this process in June,” explained Transit Director Kevin Davis, who was brought in to manage the service, now known as Weirton Ride, last spring. “We wanted a fresh, new look.”

Working with consultant Dan Wagner, and with support from Bill Robinson, executive director of multimodal transportation facilities, public transit for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Davis began the process of reimagining the former private, nonprofit service, contracting with a group based in Arizona with experience in branding for transit providers.

Through those efforts, the Weirton Ride name, along with a new logo and color scheme, were crafted.

Where the old transit service was most recently identified with a red and white coloration, Weirton Ride has a blue, gold and white scheme, with a logo featuring a large “W” within a circle.

Eventually, the buses, too, will feature the new colors, with the new shade of blue predominantly on the front, with white covering much of the remainder of the vehicles. Striping, in the shape of a blue and gold “W” will appear at the back of either side of the buses.

“Everything we now order will look like that,” Davis said, adding his hope is to find some grants which would assist in refurbishing a few of the newer, existing buses in the fleet as well.

Davis explained the design process included reviews of five different shades of blue, in order to make certain the vehicles couldn’t be confused with other transportation or delivery services, as well as the discussion of the buses featuring striping to resemble the Ohio River.

It’s not just about new colors and logos, though.

Davis has been working on a restructuring of Weirton Ride’s routes in an effort to better serve the city’s residents and focus on its operations as a public transit provider.

The new routes became official July 1, when the city took over the service, with Davis tweaking them when necessary.

Weirton Ride now includes a regular route and an express route, each running twice a day, available Monday through Saturday. A deviation service area is available, with buses able to deviate up to 1/8 of a mile from their routes upon request of at least one day in advance.

Buses run from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Regular fares are set at $2 per trip.

A link between Weirton Ride and the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority, which operates a route between Steubenville and Robinson Township, is available, allowing Weirton residents to use the SVRTA service.

While Davis indicated there could be the potential for new routes and even service areas down the road, he wants to focus on establishing a steady and reliable public transit service first.

“We’re not looking to do any expansions right off the bat,” Davis said.

For information about Weirton Ride, call (304) 797-8500, extension 1023, or go online to weirtonride.org.