Regional Transportation Development Program Advisory Committee Meeting

Wednesday, May 28^th, 2008

Fowler Family Southside Campus – NCC – 3:30 p.m.

The group of 38 members, split into six groups, were asked to spend 20 minutes discussing four questions and delivering their comments and observations to the group. The responses to the two of the questions overlapped and are combined below. The following is a documentation of those comments and observations:

Provide opinions and observations as well as identify suggested service and operational improvements for LANTA’s bus service.

More service to outlying areas is needed with better connections to evening and early morning work shifts.

More service is needs to areas of the community with concentrations of lower income housing.

More extended hours of service is needed in particular to meet the needs of the community’s hospitals which are a major generator of employee trips and operate 24/7

It appears that surveys are reaching riders, but how are non-riders reached?

Has the concept of park-and-ride lots along major corridors been evaluated?

We here don’t ride the bus so it is difficult for us to judge the system

Bus routes by nature are flexible – thus more responsive to meet community change; however, when service is curtailed in one area to address needs in another area, there can be conflict (e.g. the Hamilton Mall Merchants)

Service is meeting the needs of the poor and the elderly but is enough attention being paid to access to bus stops?

Generally, there is a low frequency of service

Seems to be adequate service in the cities; further out, the service is very limited

There is a lack of service to the industrial parks

The system is complicated and difficult to understand

The system stops need visibility – there should be maps and signs at bus stops

Bus Rapid Transit should to be evaluated

People living in outlying townships don’t have direct service between townships – must travel downtown to travel to other parts of the community – indirect connections. Should there be hubs?

There should be real time information about when the next bus is coming at stops

Does it make sense to use smaller vehicles in the off-peak hours to economize?

A major casino is opening in Bethlehem next year. Are steps being taken to accommodate the demand for this? It would be very good if some of the increased traffic could be mitigated by the use of public transit.

Economic growth in the community can be slowed by lack of public transportation

Getting workers to outlying developments is important for economic development

Companies in the community may not be aware of the availability of public transit access to their locations. Could business be invited to partner with LANTA to educate students on how to access their firms via public transit?

There should be high frequency of service generally – at least every 15 minutes

There should be more service in the evening particularly in the ‘gap’ between when the fixed-route stops and the Starlight service begins

There are pedestrian issues – sometimes people cannot access a bus stop because it is across a very congested boulevard

Service to areas of concentrated lower income neighborhoods should be evaluated

Bus stops should be pedestrian friendly

Coordination should be explored: Could school bus services be provided by the public transit system Valley wide? There are other fleets available in the community, could these be employed in the provision of public transit?

Provide opinions and observations regarding LANTA’s Metro Plus operations

More information is needed in order to make informed comments

The service needs to be expanded to meet demand

Surprised at the number of Metro Plus vehicles

Concern about the length of time it takes for trips

Perceive scheduling problems for medical trips: patients are not ready when the vans come to pick them up and sometimes taxi cabs have to be used as a substitute – costly alternative

Provide a vision of what transportation should look like in the Lehigh Valley 10 to 30 years from now

Several groups mentioned that they did not have enough time to address this issue

The population is aging, these needs ought to be studied and addressed in some way

Bus Rapid Transit as a future service option

Connections to rail hubs between the Valley and New York and Philadelphia

Public transportation ought to be seen as a way of attracting people to live in the Valley and support economic development

The system should be easy to use

There should be a coordination of transit services both private and public

Telecommuting is a real possibility for the future

Existing transportation corridors – such as the Lehigh River – ought to be examined as a potential path for public transit. It is a ‘right-of-way’ that exists and might well be utilized for intercity connections locally.

A universal card or a debit card similar to the EZ Pass would make travel on transit easier

An increase in market share among alternative transportation modes would lead to these consumers having greater clout in the future. Right now the scales are heavily tilted towards those who drive automobiles.

The rising cost of gasoline will change how people commute and travel locally

Land use policy needs to be changed in order to affect change in the community

There is a need to act soon! The rising cost of energy is occurring rapidly. Are the solutions or alternatives going to appear as rapidly?

Energy issues are rapidly changing the economy and our lifestyle

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Notes from August 20th, 2008 Advisory Committee Meeting:

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Regional Transportation Development Program Advisory Committee Meeting

Wednesday, August 20^th, 2008

Fowler Family Southside Campus – NCC – 3:00 p.m.

Walter Cherwony of Abrams-Cherwony, Inc, the lead consultants for this study, presented a power point presentation on the progress of the effort to date.  This included a description of the existing LANTA system of transit service, a comparison of LANTA to 10 ‘peers,’ as well as the ‘outcome’ of the public rider and non-rider survey, an expert panel review of the system and comments from the Advisory Committee from the May 28^th meeting.  The group was asked then asked to discuss ‘what LANTA should look like’ in the future.  These are the responses:

--Move to hydrogen fuel buses; work with Air Products; goal of 10 years for fleet replacement

--Develop dedicated bus lanes on major arteries

--Develop or improve Park and Ride lots at ‘hubs’ with amenities like refreshments and bathrooms

--Ensure safety and comfort on buses

--Use smart card technology like EZ-Pass for paying fares

--Build intermodal facilities that merge LANTA with inter-city buses and rail

--Implement local taxing for support of transit

--Flex routes (1/4 mile)

--Add capacity to reduce overloaded buses

--Develop Bus Rapid Transit in core service areas

--Reduce trip times and increase frequency

--Add suburban Park and Ride lots

--Add routes that serve suburb to suburb

--Bring back trolleys

--Increase the number of ‘work trips’

--Add service for ‘shift workers’

--Add BRT to increase population density in core areas

--Establish ridership ‘goals’

--Improve relationships between LANTA and local business committee

--More visible marketing

--Improve customer service, particularly faster pickup of telephone calls

--Explore new modes of transportation, including rail

--Improve service frequency

--increase ‘span’

--More service to suburbs

--Real-time information at bus stops

--This effort is “B.S.”

--Concentrate service where there is employment density (city vs. suburbs)

--Put no rail across the Delaware River. Either drive, walk or take a shuttle bus to New Jersey.

-- Some questioned the ‘expert’ nature of the expert panel.

--Simplify routes

--Work to better municipal cooperation with LANTA

--Enforce rules near bus stops, shelters, etc. Particularly “No Parking” signs