WARREN — Trumbull County and Warren officials rode on two of the inaugural Western Reserve Transit Authority buses on the restarted Trumbull routes in Warren on Monday.

Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy expressed disappointment that so few other riders were on the bus.

“There was very low bus ridership on Monday,” Malloy said. “Some 90% of the people were on the bus going for food.”

The commissioner acknowledged there is a food desert in Warren that needs to be addressed by city officials, not the county.

Also riding on Monday were commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa, Niki Frenchko, Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, Trumbull Transit Administrator Mike Salamone and Dean Harris, executive director of WRTA.

The Warren West route travels from High Street and North Park Avenue to the Veterans Service Commission building, to Trumbull Plaza to Summit Street NW and Tod Avenue NW.

The Elm Road bus travels from High Street NE and North Park Avenue to Elm Road NE and Reeves Road to Walmart, to Elm Road NE and Ewalt Avenue Ave NE.

Malloy said one of the routes might be reconfigured to allow the bus to go through the Jamestown Village area, where it would have the opportunity to pick up a greater number of people that may not have cars and need rides to Jamestown Village and other areas.

“Instead of having five riders, it would have two to three times the passengers,” Malloy said.

Cantalamessa noted the number of bus riders likely will increase over time as residents get used to the reestablished routes.

“These are the two most traveled stops,” he said.

The two routes were able to be renewed after Trumbull County commissioners and Warren city officials each agreed to provide $148,178.50 for a total of $296,357 as a local match for the Federal Transit Authority’s 50/50 Flex Funds Grant being used to finance the bus routes through March 2025.

The grant will fund the operation of both fixed routes Monday through Friday for one year. Five bus routes were discontinued last year because the state did not renew funding for them.

Cantalamessa, earlier this year, said resuming these two routes will give the commissioners, working with Warren and WRTA, time to develop a permanent solution to the public transportation problem in Trumbull County.

Cantalamessa said the bus routes will be a tougher sell for outlying areas.

“A careful approach is what we’ve taken here,” he said. “Start small. See how it goes. See the ridership and if we see a clamoring for more routes. I don’t want to shoot for a $7 million system. We are going about it the right way.”