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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Monday, December 05, 2022

Should Lehigh Valley Consider A Limited Fare-Free Transit Program?

Over the summer, I suggested that LANTA (the Lehigh Valley's mass transit system) should consider  reducing fares to help motorists hampered by prices at the pump. At the time, there already was a 31-day deal for just $5, I was under the impression you could only use it once, but some readers tell me they've been able to use it over and over.  Now I have another suggestion, based on what is happening in Kansas City.  Why not consider fare-free bus rides in the downtown business districts of Allentown, Bethlehem and possibly Easton? This would help many mom 'n pop Main Street businesses. It would help shoppers who struggle to find parking spots. It should reduce congestion and pollution as well. Kansas City pays for its fare-free program by creating a transportation district with a slight increase in sales tax and property taxes on affected businesses. Here in Pa, state law would have to be changed, but only if supported by positive input from affected local businesses as well as shoppers. 

In Kansas City, the fare-free line is a 2.2 mile strip going through the central business district every 10-20 minutes. 

In Allentown, a fare-free line could be established at the Riverfront on Hamilton Street and extend up to Cedar Beach Park (with the entire street being two-way to keep speeds down). 

In Bethlehem, the ride could commence at on Broad Street (8th Avenue?) to Main Street, and then cross the Fahy Bridge and ride along 3rd Street on the south side. 

Downtown Easton is much smaller and flatter, but a line could run from the circle to 15th Street.  

What do you think?     

14 comments:

peterjcochran said...

A train runs thru city of Hanoi like that alone Train Street.

Anonymous said...

Anything provided free of charge sounds good, and always will. Problem is, nothing is truly “free.” Whatever revenues are lost will be made-up by taking from some other place in the budget. Better still, let’s call those other places higher taxes and fees.
Perhaps, there’s some waste/abuse to be found in the PA Lottery proceeds (‘ya think?) to be spent for such a plan.

Anonymous said...

So, considering Easton run, do you park on 15th street somewhere and get bus? Maybe I am not understanding.

Anonymous said...

This could be the worst suggestion ever proposed on this blog.

Let's just look at Allentown. Hamilton Street between the Riverfront and Cedar Beach Park is 2 or 3 or 4 lanes wide depending on where you're at, and one-way from 10th Street to 6th Street. Changing the 6th to 10th portion from one-way to two-way and widening it from two lanes would be an astronomically expensive proposal that would also take away parking and require new traffic signalization.

Not only that, only a fraction of people would WANT to use the service and wait for the bus vs. the convenience of walking to and from their cars on THEIR schedules, not LANTA's. It would also cause auto traffic to naturally divert from Hamilton to avoid being stuck behind slow-moving and frequently stopping buses. Traffic count is a component of business success, and I doubt few business owners downtown would see this proposal as beneficial to their businesses. Also, remember that it was just a few years ago that routes were changed because of that, with a new bus terminal built on Linden and bus traffic moved off of Hamilton.

Before we pay for another expensive government solution to an expensive government-caused problem, why don't we have a reality check? Even at the highest gas prices over the last two years of Biden (and I'm not saying they won't go up again or even exceed previous highs), one could see near-empty buses on many routes. The demand simply isn't there.

Instead of pumping more money into a public transportation system that is already both under-used and highly subsidized, the real solution should be obvious. We need to stop following a phony narrative of there being a climate emergency, and our leaders should adopt a policy that allows our country to tap the vast amounts of fossil fuel available to us. This will cause fuel prices (and home heating prices) to fall back to pre-Biden levels.

High fuel prices - the cause of the proposal suggested above - is not a problem that is occurring because of the free market. It is a government-caused problem promoted by politicians and political parties for their own benefit. We all need to wake up to that fact.

John said...

Per a 2015 performance report produced by PennDOT, LANTA’s firebox recovery is about 40 percent. Fares for that period were about $3,000,000 FOR THE YEAR.

What is the annual amount of Pennsylvania state tax diverted from the Department of Revenue to the Allentown NIZ? I submit it’s a little more than $3 million. The NIZ could fund public transit in an area far larger than the LANTA service area and not feel the strain. Or it could fund LANTA to give us more frequent buses or smaller on-demand vehicles in the three service areas above.

Right now our old people and more marginalized communities ride buses. Why don’t I ride? I live in Bethlehem and I can walk everywhere. And I’ve hit the 65 landmark age so service is free anyway.

It’s people in their 30s and 40s who need incentives to walk to a bus stop. LANTA made a good start by bumping up frequency on the Allentown-Bethlehem corridor. That’s what would do well as a free service instead of or in addition to your three-city-center recommendation.

How about asking the NIZ to sponsor the system for a year and see what happens?

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Not only that, only a fraction of people would WANT to use the service and wait for the bus vs. the convenience of walking to and from their cars on THEIR schedules, not LANTA's. It would also cause auto traffic to naturally divert from Hamilton to avoid being stuck behind slow-moving and frequently stopping buses. Traffic count is a component of business success, and I doubt few business owners downtown would see this proposal as beneficial to their businesses. "
How do you know only a fraction of shoppers would want to use this? I think it would be very popular among people who actually might want to visit several businesses and restaurants along Hamilton Street. That is the key, along with support from businesses who would benefit.
"another expensive government solution to an expensive government-caused problem"
Put your MAGA hat away for once and think. I am not the government. Government has an obligation to provide the roads. That's what government does. Traffic congestion is a result of growth and the fact that we all own eight or nine cars, the bigger the better. At one time, people could park easily along our main streets. That is no longer so. A fare-free route for a limited distance along a major business thoroughfare could encourage less, not more, use of that thoroughfare. It would ease the congestion caused by double parkers. It would encourage ordinary people to linger in Allentown or Bethlehem and visit several places like they do when they go to a mall. Yes, LANTA did remove stops along Hamilton Street, which was incredibly stupid and opposed at the time by numerous businesses. I believe this could increase foot traffic in the shopping districts and actually have the added benefit of making Allentown safer.
" do you park on 15th street somewhere and get bus? Maybe I am not understanding."
I threw Easton into the mix but really don't see a need for it because most of the businesses are locate in close proximity to the circle, which is a relatively flat area. As the area expands, a shuttle from the parking garages might be a good idea.

Anonymous said...

As a frequent voluntary rider (I have a car) of LANTA for trips within Allentown and Bethlehem, I think it's too optimistic to suggest car commuters will opt to try riding LANTA even for free. The level of service LANTA provides is getting better and they are to be commended, but attracting riders that are not elderly, mentally ill or in poverty would be next to impossible. The level of service is just not high enough. Most routes have hourly service and buses frequently run behind schedule during peak commuting times, which causes riders to miss connections in center city Allentown and Bethlehem. I'd love to see free service, but I doubt it would increase ridership much at all.

Anonymous said...

Years ago someone proposed operating a string of three wheeled electric rickshaws on the South side of Bethlehem. The problem was negotiating the many hills leading up to Lehigh. Perhaps with todays enhanced technoligy that obstacle could be ovecome. The idea you propose is a good one but a regular bus will not attract ridership. Perhaps the rickshaw or other novel conveyance could be used.

Anonymous said...

Its a great idea the area would benfit from light rail or commuter train service. with some connections from allentown to easton Even rail service to NYC Scranton and Philly would drastically cut traffic congestion in valley.

Anonymous said...

Could be a bad idea. Going into the cold of winter, what will happen. The homeless, bums and potential muggers will just ride all day to get out of the cold and size up potential victims. It will be a rolling shelter with no rules and all free of charge. Doubt any real customers. It will give shoplifters and pickpockets a wider range to ply their craft. So, no.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,

You have to consider Easton. There are no supermarkets in the City of Easton or P'burg. The only supermarket is way up on Southside by the foot of Williams Township. It is a food desert.

Anonymous said...

Sadly people in the Lehigh Valley just don't want to ride the bus. Lanta tries to increase ridership but folks just won't take the bus. They will complain about high gas prices and pollution but still drive when they could ride. Maybe if they got a couple of celebs to take the bus and advertise it more people would open their eyes to the advantages of bus transport.

Anonymous said...

Why do people slander Judge Murray? And you let it pass off as legitimate commentary?

Anonymous said...

BernieOHare it was published by accident.