Earlier this week, NorCo Controller Tara Zrinski issued a news release concerning the possible outright elimination of bus service to the slate belt. LANTA is currently planning a 20% reduction in fixed route bus service and a 25% fare hike even though 75% of its riders rely on it to get to and from work. This is because of a significant gap between stagnant state funding and costs.
Governor Josh Shapiro has proposed a fix. Currently, mass transit statewide gets 4.4% of the sales tax collected every year. He has proposed increasing this allotment to 6.15%. This would result in an additional $292 million for mass transit statewide, including $7 million in revenue for LANTA, This would fix its funding gap. But it's unclear whether the state senate is willing to go along.
At their June 17 meeting, NorCo Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting a state increase in mass transit funding.
28 comments:
Thank God for Tara's bill. So now funding will be increased.
Under the proposed Shapiro plan, as described here, all of the current 6% sales tax would now go to mass transit? What then will be used to fund whatever purpose was served by the present sales tax balance remaining from the present 6%?
Sounds to me like an overall statewide sales tax increase from 6% to 7% is upon us.
The state is broke. Shapiro blew the surplus. If you voted for Shapiro, try walking. You're likely fat, anyway.
It's good that Tara Zrinski is taking on this issue. Many people in the Slate Belt rely on LANTA buses to get to their jobs and medical appointments. It's weird that Tom Giovanni, who is also running for County Exec, didn't speak out or take action on this.
Giovanni actually represents the Slate belt on Council.
Commissioner Warren was, notably, the author and introducer of the resolution—an important detail that Bernie conveniently omitted. Thank you, Commissioner Warren, for your leadership and initiative on this matter.
Weakest group of representatives ever. Support Lanta with a toothless resolution, but won’t address nursing home shortfalls and hiring improvements. Maybe they should go back to supporting paper placemats at restaurants advertising for help at Gracedale?
Oh wow!! A useless resolution from Norco. That will whip the lifers in Harrisburg right into action.
Maybe LANTA could raise the fare for those using their system to help pay for these necessary routes in NorCo, and others like them.
After all, we always hear about how heavily used the system is, so only a small increase in fares (across the entire system) should generate the relatively small amount needed to keep these routes going.
Or is this the usual game that always seems to be played at budget time of threatening to cut routes if they don’t get additional funding from other sources?
As I wrote. LANTA plans to impose a 25% fare hike. This is no "usual game." LANTA has not cut service this deeply in decades. The current fare for one trip is $2. And guess what? There will be deeper cuts and more fare increases in successive years unless the state increases funding. This is not just LANTA. Our mass transit system statewide is poorly funded. If you would like to see less traffic and less congestion, bus service needs to be more attractive. You should not have to spend 1.5 - 2 hours on a bus for a one-way trip to a job. You are suggesting fare increases on the people who can least afford them. These are people who use LANTA to travel to low-paying jobs. I see them. These are elderly who use LANTA to do their grocery shopping. I see them, too. These are the disabled, who are often wheelchair bound and who are helped onto the bus by very capable drivers. Finally, these are college students. It is a great service and is being run as efficiently as possible. Except for seniors like myself or the disabled, people do pay.
You misread what I wrote or I was unclear. There is a 6% sales tax. Currently, about 4% of the revenue collected from that tax goes to mass transit. Shapiro proposes increasing the amount of $ mass transit gets from the sales tax from 4% to 6%, not all of it. OK?
Tell that to the persons in wheelchairs or the elderly who rely on mass transit to shop for groceries. Tell that to someone who spends up to 3 hours a day on the bus to get to and from work. You're likely stupid and certainly are insensitive.
Actually, Pa has a structural deficit. https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-budget-josh-shapiro-surplus-structural-deficit-explainer/
Tom voted for this measure. He has no need to speak out every 10 seconds.
Yes, he did author and introduce the resolution. I don't always mention the author, especially if a matter is adopted unanimously.
It is a toothless resolution, agreed. But the looming cuts in service and increased fares at mass transit are very much a county issue if you actually give a shit about the people who use it.
Please spare us Tara
As with every Gov't agency, it doesn't matter how much $ you give them, LANTA is poorly run. It's a shame, since many people depend on it.
Shapiro is a fraud- he's a liberal masquerading as a Moderate.
The way I read this is Shapiro is proposing using 6% of the sales tax collected instead of 4%. That means taking 2% more, which will mean a cut somewhere else, right? So what is he proposing to take the 2% from to increase the transportation share?
Bernie O'Hare 9:35 wrote: "These are elderly...These are the disabled...these are college students."
College students? Really?
So let me get this straight: Hard-working taxpayers, who may not have had the opportunity to go to college (because they were busy WORKING), and who already see part of their tax dollars going to pay for the privileged few who have CHOSEN to ATTEND college, now have to also chip in MORE so that college students can be shuttled around?
Why not ask those students to pay more than $2.50 a ride (and that includes your whopping fare hike)? Or why not impose a fee on colleges to help subsidize the system?
Has anyone looked at their (the colleges) fund levels lately? Most have enough disposable funds on hand to teach students for the next 20 years without another dime (not joking about this).
One last thing: Any funding should come with the requirement that any advertising on LANTA buses does not obscure the windows. I've been on enough buses that were VERY empty, and would often see others similarly empty as they passed me by. That became more difficult to see when LANTA decided to wrap their entire fleet in advertising that kept people from seeing inside.
I don't know if that was by design, but I do know that people should be able to see just how used many of these routes are.
Got it! Something didn’t seem right about my first impression.
College students. Really. It is my understanding that this amounts to 7,000 students whom you would rather see behind the wheel instead of in a bus. You call them the privileged few, but that is pure horseshit. Many of these students use the bus to get to LCCC or NCC, both of which offer certification programs for people interested in various trades. I don't look at buses as they go by. I ride in them from time to time, and many of them, like the 106, are packed.
Also, if routes are poorly used, it is bc people try to avoid spending three hours on a bus every day. It also can be too rainy, cold or hot to wait.
LANTA seems to be run pretty well. The buses are mostly on time and the drivers are great.
Got it. So now we also need more frequent service for poorly used routes.
Is there any scenario where you would agree to ANY route being cut?
I think I’m beginning to understand the mindset why public’s transit always needs MORE of our money.
BTW, you sidestepped the part of the question that someone asked about more sales tax money being used for public transport. Where does the money come from to fund what was being funded by that portion of the sales tax before?
Is Shapiro cutting something else, or will he be raising taxes to cover it? I think we should all be told the answer to that.
How much do the directors and highest paid employees at LANTA (and SEPTA, and all the others) make?
Are any of them taking pay cuts? They are all non-profits, right?
12:36, I sidestepped nothing. I did not answer the question bc I do not know the answer. Shapiro is raising no taxes.
12:39, I linked to the proposed budget previously. You should read it instead of making me answer questions you can answer yourself by actually reading instead of braying.
https://lantabus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FY2026-BUDGET-PACKET-FINAL.pdf
Salary costs are going down 22%. Drivers are being paid more, but there will be fewer of them.
There’s Keegan speaking up for her boy.
No LANTA service in most of the northern townships. I pay taxes to get southern city dwellers around. We're not all rich up here. I don't care what they cut from LANTA. Welcome to our world.
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