HAMILTON — The Butler County Transit Authority Board decided Wednesday to follow through with plans to eliminate the Middletown Express route.

        March 1 will be the last day of the Middletown Express route, which runs to downtown Hamilton and includes stops at the University Shopping Plaza and the Opportunity Center in Middletown.

        The elimination of this route had been part of a cost-cutting plan the board adopted in December.

        The board also considered reducing the Fairfield Express route from two buses to one. But instead, the board elected to shorten the route.

        The route now runs from the Transit Authority's hub on Market Street between Second and Third streets in Hamilton to the Tri-County Mall.

        Beginning March 4, the route will stop at the Park-N-Ride at the Tri-County Assembly of God in Fairfield and will not continue to the mall.

        “Barring anything unforeseen, that should be the last cut this year,” said Ken Reed, interim general manager.

        The transit system has been struggling financially because it has been unable to fill the revenue gap caused by the expiration of its federal grants last year.

        In May and November of last year, Butler County voters rejected proposed quarter-percent sales tax increases for the transit system. The Transit Authority has an operating budget this year of $2.3 million that will carry it through the end of the calendar year.

        The board made no decisions Wednesday about replacing Amy Terango, who resigned from the general manager's post in January. The board is leaning toward hiring a management firm to handle the general manager's duties.

        The board will set up a summit meeting with elected officials in Butler County to discuss public transit's future.

        “The board is trying to assess where things are going and what's best for the Butler County community,” Mr. Reed said.

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