Shenango Valley Shuttle Service has revamped three weekday morning routes to accommodate students in Sharon, Farrell and Wheatland who want a lift to school.

The buses also will be waiting at the end of the school day to return students home.

"Hopefully, this will boost ridership," said James DeCapua, executive director of Mercer County Regional Council of Governments, which runs the shuttle service.

The service also has instituted a lower fare for students: 25 cents a ride. The normal fare is 50 cents.

The routes, which begin Tuesday, are aimed at older students because Sharon's younger students attend neighborhood elementary schools, and the youngest students in Farrell and Wheatland are bused to school, DeCapua said.

The Farrell bus will arrive in front of Farrell High School at 7:45 a.m., giving students time to get breakfast under the free meal program before heading to class.

The bus routes -- when initially set up years ago -- accomplished that, but Farrell changed its starting time at some point, and the bus route had not been altered to match it.

"This year, we're back in sync," DeCapua said.

The new routes will not displace regular riders because of the short duration, DeCapua said. Non-students can board the buses which will resume their normal routes upon dropping off students at the schools.

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