By Borys Krawczeniuk, Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice
Public bus riders in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties can buy a new monthly bus pass to ride anywhere on the two transit systems, starting Wednesday.
The County of Lackawanna Transit System and the Luzerne County Transportation Authority jointly announced Monday the launch of a 31-day bus pass that will cost $60 — $4 more than the monthly COLTS pass; $18 more than LCTA’s monthly pass — and allow riders unlimited access to all routes on both systems.
COLTS might also add a bus route later to Wilkes-Barre at different times than the LCTA buses that run between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, COLTS executive director Robert Fiume said. The LCTA buses run between the cities’ downtown transit centers. COLTS only runs buses to the Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township and downtown Pittston at the moment.
LCTA executive director Norm Gavlick said thousands of people ride his agency’s buses to and from Scranton, though he did not have precise figures readily available.
“It’ll benefit people working in either county the most,” Gavlick said.
The passes will be available at the Lackawanna Transit Center, 30 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton; COLTS headquarters on North-South Road; LCTA’s transit center in downtown Wilkes-Barre and its administrative offices at 315 Northampton St., Kingston; and online at coltsbus.com or lctabus.com.
The two agencies are studying a potential merger, but Fiume said the new bus pass makes sense “even if we don’t have a merger.”
