At the end of January, LANTA in the Lehigh Valley is cutting service, with fare increases coming in March due to a lack of state funding. Public Comments are Open now, and the agency hosts a fare hearing on Wednesday, January 14.
While it’s not the 20% (or more) service cuts originally threatened yet, this continued loss shows the depth of the issues facing transit across the Commonwealth. SEPTA in Philadelphia and PRT in Pittsburgh were able to flex their own capital funding via PennDOT to stave off cuts for two years, but the rest of Pennsylvania doesn’t have access to those same opportunities.
On January 26, LANTA will cut 5% of its service – cancelling some trips on 13 bus lines. Then, in March, the agency is proposing fare increases, though thankfully accompanied by free transfers across the system. Without adequate state funding, more cuts are expected in years to come.
In the last five years, LANTA has been doing big things just as every other transit agency across PA has cut service. Most notably, the agency added its Enhanced Bus Service – known as bus rapid transit in other parts of the globe – along two major corridors in the region, which will not see cuts this month. And it’s this service expansion that has led ridership to actually surpass pre-pandemic totals in Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing region.
Even still, LANTA can’t keep up with rising costs and stagnant state investment.
The Lehigh Valley is exploring the restoration of Allentown train service, with the region expected to be home to 800,000 people by 2050. Coupled with the local economy’s current dependence on warehousing and logistics, without investment in transit there looms a recipe for mobility and development disaster.
The good news? You are organizing in the Lehigh Valley.
In the Pennsylvania legislature, the Transit For All PA funding package would fund the expansion of transit service in the Lehigh Valley and across the Commonwealth to 10% above 2019 levels. We’re currently seeking three fellows in the region to serve as paid organizers into the Summer to identify the transit needs of the region, build a local demand, and take local action.
Send a letter to Governor Shapiro NOW before his budget address to remind him the transit crisis is here, and he must set the tone for investment in the Lehigh Valley and across PA.
If you live in the Lehigh Valley, submit your comments and attend the fare hearing on Wednesday, January 14.
