History
The Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) has ten voting and two non-voting members appointed by the County Executives.
The agency was created in March 1972 in response to the transportation crisis that was occurring in Lehigh, and Northampton. The solution was to create a bi-county, municipal Authority that would operate all public transit services in the two counties. Lehigh Valley Transit Company, a private for-profit entity, formally operated transit services in the Valley.
The Authority's main service is in the urbanized area of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton and surrounding boroughs and townships. About 380,000 people live within 3/4 mile of a fixed-route bus line.
About 15,000 trips are taken daily on the Metro city transit system.
In 1973, the Authority replaced the entire 65-vehicle fleet with modern air-conditioned city transit coaches. In 1974, LANTA added 30% more service hours and established a peak/off-peak fare structure offering discounts in the off-peak hours and Saturdays to encourage ridership. Seniors, through a state lottery funded program, were offered free fare access during off-peak hours and weekends in 1975.
In the mid-1980s, as the community transformed from a manufacturing based economy to a service and retail based economy, was completely revamped and a new "Metro" system was introduced in 1985. A color-coded route information system was introduced at the same time to make riding transit more 'user-friendly.' The following year, 'deep-discount' fares were introduced as LANTA raised the case fares but kept ticket and pass prices the same and providing frequent riders with a 25% discount.
In 1988 Metro Plus services for the elderly and people with disabilities were introduced. Fully accessible vans are available through contracts with private operators to take people to destinations door-to-door for a higher, zoned fare.
About 2,000 trips are taken each weekday on the Metro Plus paratransit system.
A transportation center was established in Bethlehem and centers in Allentown and Easton are on the drawing board.
As the years went on, the agency grew adding more and more bus routes around the Lehigh Valley. Ridership has grown 75% since LANTA's inception. On October 21, 2001 that LANTA started offering Sunday bus service to further increase access to public transit. The Authority is funded through revenues from the farebox; a grant from the Pennsylvania Lottery program with revenue generated by rides taken on the system by seniors 65 and older, grants from Lehigh and Northampton counties, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. Combined these grants pay approximately 60% of the cost of operation; the remaining funds come through the lottery program and passenger fares.
Eighty buses are in the Metro city transit fleet; 118 vans are used to provide the Metro Plus door-to-door van services. The Authority owns all vehicles. LANTA has two operating facilities: the main office, garage and maintenance building is at 1060 Lehigh Street Allentown Lehigh County and there is a satellite facility located at 3610 Nicholas Street in Easton, Northampton County.
LANTA has three operating divisions:
- Metro: The main transit service that is made up of 28 core, fixed bus routes in the Lehigh Valley. Special service routes add another 17 routes to the total.
- Metro Plus: A special door-to-door transportation service for people with disabilities and the elderly.
- CCCT (Carbon County Community Transit): A service the Authority agreed to manage in 1996 for the County of Carbon. Shared ride van services and a fixed-route bus line comprise the Carbon County Community Transportation service.
LANTA is also involved with these services:
- Starlight Evening Service
- Night Owl Service
- The Slater Express Van
- The 400 Routes
- The Lynx
- Silverline Express
- The Bethlehem Loop
Read more about this topic: Lehigh And Northampton Transportation Authority
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