A new study proposes more express routes, relocating stops and allowing bus drivers to hold green lights.
A LANTA plan to use technology and modify route structures could save some riders six to eight minutes on their commutes.
At a public hearing today, Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority officials unveiled a study on route changes for public comment. The study won’t be finished until at least next year, but officials want to hear public opinion and recommendations before they make any specific changes.
LANTA hopes to speed up people’s trips so its buses are “more convenient and competitive with the automobile,” said LANTA Planning Director Owen O’Neil.
Many of the suggestions are small. Moving stops from one side of the road to the other, in some cases, could be a feasible way to make up time.
Others are larger, including running more express buses, which stop at some of the major destinations along priority corridors but avoid smaller stops, making bus-only lanes on some streets, and making road improvements so buses don't spend as much time parking and pulling away from bus stops.
Transit times could also improve by using traffic signal priorities. Police, firefighters and ambulances already make use of traffic signal priorities in some locations, so the bus service would not have to put new technology into effect.
Police use "signal pre-emption" in some areas, where they can switch the light from red to green. The bus service wouldn’t go that far; O’Neil said the organization is considering "signal priority," which would give drivers the ability to delay a light from changing from green to red for about 10 seconds, long enough to get through and save a few seconds of time for commuters.
“That’s one of the biggest things, how much time is it saving people,” O’Neil said.
LANTA has a fleet of 83 buses, and they run about 70 on peak days. Development of the plan began last year when the organization began its “Moving LANTA Forward” campaign.
Residents who have concerns or questions about the plan still have time to make their opinions known. There will be two meetings Thursday at the Baum School of Art at 510 W. Linden Street in Allentown. The first will begin at 10 a.m., and the second will begin at 6 p.m. Both run for an hour and a half, are ADA accessible and will have Spanish translators available.
But even if you can’t make the meeting, you can still learn more about the process at www.lantabus.com/planningstudies.html or comment on the organization’s Facebook page.