The Carbon County Transit system is looking at altering some fixed routes after ridership to some areas has been lower than anticipated.

Representatives of LANTA, which operates the Carbon Transit system, held a public meeting to discuss the proposed changes for later this year and hear any questions riders may have regarding these changes.

The proposed changes are to fixed routes 702 and 703. It would include adding 703 on Mondays and Fridays and ending the Whitehall services on those days. The new 703 schedule would match the current Wednesday schedule.

AJ Jordan, manager of planning and scheduling at the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, oversaw the meeting.

He said that based on conversations with riders, the commissioners and the county transportation commission, these changes may help bring more routes to central Carbon to better serve those who use the service.

“We’re moving the system in, I believe, the right direction but there are a lot of moving parts,” he said, adding that “the only way transit works is if you ride it and the only reason you ride it is if it works for you.”

Jordan noted that last year only about 12 people at a given time were utilizing the route to the Lehigh Valley.

Some riders in attendance said that some reasons for not riding that route included the time allotted between dropoff at the mall and pickup to return to Carbon County. There was approximately one hour between those times.

Jordan said that to resolve that issue, people can call for a flex bus to drop them off in Palmerton and then pick up LANTA bus 325, which runs daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Palmerton to the Lehigh Valley.

He added that shifting the 702 route from the Lehigh Valley, it will help bring more bus service between Jim Thorpe and Lehighton and other communities within Carbon County.

“We want to focus on the service areas,” he said.

Several transit riders also asked about getting services to area hospitals and doctor’s offices, which Jordan said they would look into working into the future routes.

Looking ahead, Jordan said that a new bus service the county created three years ago, which transports visitors from Mauch Chunk Lake Park to downtown Jim Thorpe in October, is helping to subsidize an additional bus for the spring that will be utilized to increase evening and weekend service.

Jordan recommended anyone who would like to comment on the proposed changes, or any other changes they would like to see with the transit system, to contact the transit call center, tell a driver, email comments@lantabus.com or message Carbon Transit through Facebook by June 29.

The final route changes will be posted on the transit’s website on July 24 and will go into effect on Aug. 24.

For more information on Carbon Transit, visit https://carbontransit.com.