Carbon County officials are hoping discussions with the company hired to manage the county’s transportation system will provide better access for people using the bus system.

Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko said that he and a few of the other county employees had a chance to ride the Carbon Transit buses last month to see how routes operate.

“We all went to see how the bus routes fit and there were some concerns that we’ve had that the board of commissioners will be addressing,” he said, noting that a meeting had been scheduled to meet with LANTA officials regarding the routes, drop off points and times of service.

“To those who need the service, there was a lot of great positives, (but) there’s always a few improvements that need to be done to help serve the residents that need the service in a much more timely and efficient manner.”

He cited some of the routes can be tricky to navigate, as well as information that can be a little confusing; however, all the drivers were more than happy to answer questions and help those riding the buses.

Some issues that were highlighted including better service to the Lehigh Valley area malls because the current route takes three hours to get down there and only 45 minutes to shop; changing some bus stops to be closer to some services like Children and Youth and Drug and Alcohol; and extending the time the buses run to better accommodate people who work and use the bus as their transportation.

“We do need to address the need for some evening bus service because most people work 9 to 5 or 7 to 3 and it doesn’t help them,” Sofranko said. “We’ve got to really sit down and look at how that best serves everybody.”

The commissioners said that while there is no hard time frame on when any changes would take place, they are hoping for sometime this year.

Carbon Transit, which is overseen by LANTA, provides fixed routes, flex routes, shared rides and medical assistance ride to appointments; however, routes have been cut back and shifted around over the last few years.

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