Carbon County seniors who are sponsored through the Area Agency on Aging will not see a fare increase in 2020 for the shared ride program, even though a 90-cent rate hike on one-way rides will go into effect on July 1.

On Thursday, the commissioners approved the rate increase on the shared ride service. They also transferred funds from the county general fund to the Area Agency on Aging fund to cover the 30-cent increase for sponsored rides not covered by the agency. About $2,400 will cover approximately 8,000 rides.

Prior to the vote, the commissioners and Owen O’Neil, executive director of LANTA, discussed the rate increase and changes to the transportation program that will benefit riders in the long run.

The shared ride program is a community transit ride available to anyone, regardless of age, and fees are on a tiered zone structure for one-way rides. Trip fares, if not sponsored, cost between $27 and $56, and sponsored from $4.05 to $8.40.

O’Neil said 85 percent of the cost is covered by Pennsylvania Lottery funds for people over the age of 65, while 10 percent is covered by the Carbon County Area Agency on Aging for sponsored seniors.

The commissioners’ second action adds an additional 5 percent sponsorship through aging.

O’Neil pointed out that this is also the first increase in four years and only the second hike in 12 years.

“We tried to keep the structure as stable as possible,” O’Neil said. “It is an expensive service.”

Tickets with the new prices are now available for purchase either online, or by filling out an application and giving it and payment to the bus drivers.

The future of community transit

Some changes O’Neil said riders will see in the coming months come from a new service called CCCT Flex.

The Flex service will be a combination of shared ride and the current Lynx fixed route buses. Seniors with a senior transit ID card will be able to ride this bus for free, much like they do on the Lynx service.

The new CCCT Flex service will be implemented in zones over the next several months, with the first zone in the Jim Thorpe/Penn-Kidder area starting July 1.

The new service will provide the benefits of the fixed route service in less dense communities away from the Route 209 corridor at least two days a week.

Like the shared ride program, CCCT Flex will be a reservation based, curb-to-curb, shared ride service that will allow riders to travel to certain destinations, such as a senior center, pharmacy, grocery story medical facilities.

For the Jim Thorpe/Penn-Kidder zone, it will be available Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Anyone can reserve a spot on the CCCT Flex on the designated day a least one day prior to the ride and will cost nothing for seniors with the Senior Transit ID, and $1.50 cash or $1.35 prepaid tickets for non-seniors.

Reservations should be made much like the shared ride program by calling 888-253-8333, option 4 during business hours.

O’Neil said that after this zone is set up, LANTA will begin rolling out the other three zones to help riders get to important destinations, while helping to reduce the overall cost of travel for the shared ride program. No timeline on when the other zones will be implemented has been set, but O’Neil said he hopes it is by the end of the year.

“The fare increase for the shared ride helps us do this,” he said.

Other changes LANTA is working on to help with Carbon County transportation, are identifying all medical facilities in the area to make sure they are on the Lynx fixed routes between Palmerton and Coaldale, which they are hoping to move to a five-day consistent route; improving connections with bus services in Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties; and rebranding the system to make it more recognizable.

“We’re trying to work in the direction that it is the less cost to the consumer,” Commissioner Rocky Ahner said. “We’re providing services that are really increasing in value but we need to look to save money too.

“We can’t regulate the increase of the trip but we can regulate how it is paid.”

The Carbon County Community Transit, managed through LANTA, has 14 buses that it uses for its transportation services.

For more information on the new CCCT Flex, visit http://carbontransit.com/jim-thorpe-penn-kidder-flex or call 888-253-8333, option 4.

For more information on the shared ride or Lynx services or to obtain an application for the Senior Transit ID, visit http://carbontransit.com.

A new van

In another move to help the senior population in Carbon County, the commissioners approved the purchase of a 2020 transit 350 passenger van for the senior center use at a cost of $45,050.14.

The cost, Ahner said, is covered in the Area Agency on Aging’s budget after the pandemic forced the annual Carbon County Senior Games to be canceled and the senior centers to be shut down for several months.

He commended Sue Zeigler and Anne Horrigan from Area Agency on Aging for spearheading the fund shifting to be able to purchase the 14-passenger van.

“They are doing their job and looking out for best interest of people,” he said.

The new van replaces a vehicle the department had for taking seniors on trips through the senior centers.