LANta

Lantana

The Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTa) is a regional public transportation authority that provides public bus and rapid transit service throughout the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and their respective suburbs. LANTa is the third largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania, behind Pittsburgh Regional Transit and SEPTA, with an annual ridership of as of fiscal year 2023.

LANTa was founded in March 1972 in response to meet growing public transportation needs in Lehigh and Northampton. The solution was to create a bi county, municipal authority that would operate all public transit services in the two counties. Lehigh Valley Transit Company, a private for profit entity, operated transit services in the Valley. LANTa is governed by the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority board, which has ten voting and two non voting members appointed by county executives. In 1973, the Authority replaced the entire 65 vehicle fleet with modern air conditioned transit coaches. In 1974, LANTa added 30% more service hours and established a peak/off peak fare structure offering discounts in the off peak hours and Saturdays to encourage ridership. Seniors, through a state lottery funded program, were offered free fare access during off peak hours and weekends in 1975. The Authority's main service is in the urbanized area of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton and surrounding Lehigh Valley boroughs and townships. About 380,000 people live within 3/4 mile of a fixed route bus line. About 15,000 trips are taken daily on the metro city transit system. In 1985, as the Lehigh Valley transformed from a manufacturing based economy to a more service and retail based economy, LANTa was completely revamped, and a new "Metro" system was introduced. This included a color coded route information system to make riding transit more user friendly. The following year, discounted fares were introduced as LANTa raised the case fares but kept ticket and pass prices the same and providing frequent riders with a 25% discount. In 1988, Metro Plus services for the elderly and people with disabilities were introduced. Fully accessible vans are available through contracts with private operators to take people to destinations door to door for a higher, zoned fare.

On October 21, 2001, LANTa began offering Sunday bus service to further increase access to public transit. The service is funded through revenues from the farebox, a grant from the Pennsylvania Lottery program with revenue generated by rides taken on the system by seniors 65 and older, grants from Lehigh and Northampton counties, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the Federal Transit Administration. Combined these grants pay approximately 60% of the cost of operation; the remaining funds come through the lottery program and passenger fares. Approximately 2,000 trips are taken daily on the Metro Plus paratransit system. A transportation center was established in Bethlehem and centers in Allentown and Easton are under consideration. The agency has grown in more recent years, adding more and more bus routes throughout the Lehigh Valley. Ridership has grown 75% since LANTa's inception. LANTa was formerly involved with The Slater Express Van, Silverline Express, and The Bethlehem Loop. In August 2011, a new LANTaBus system was introduced that changed the route naming scheme from letters to one to three digits. Routes are broken down into six categories, corresponding to the first digit of the line number, and further broken down into specific routes after that in accordance with their second and third digit. For example, LANTaBus route 108 is a trunk route that offers service from Fountain Hill to the Bethlehem Square Shopping center. LANTaBus route 410 provides service for the Allentown School District and only operates during the school year. New bus stop signs were also introduced throughout the system that lists the routes that operate at the stop, compared to the old signs that only displayed a picture of a bus and the words "LANTa Metro". In 2023, LANTa introduced Enhanced Bus Service (EBS), the first bus rapid transit system in the Lehigh Valley. EBS provides limited stop express service to select stops along core network corridors between Trexlertown and Easton, with the goal of providing headways of 15 minutes or less. Currently under implementation in a multi phased approach, the system consists of two lines: the Green Line, connecting Whitehall to South Bethlehem, and the Blue Line, connecting Trexlertown to Easton, with the two routes sharing a common route between Allentown and Bethlehem. This allows for continuous 15 minute service between the two cities, a first for the region. Future plans include dedicated boarding stations, traffic signal prioritization, queue jump lanes, and dedicated median bus lanes.

LANTa previously operated 35 fixed bus routes in its Metro service. Seventeen LANTa routes serve the inner city areas of the Lehigh Valley, while five numbered routes serve the surrounding areas. Two shuttles named "The Rover" and "The Whirlybird", that operate from the Lehigh Valley Mall and Palmer Park Malls to various neighboring shopping strips and centers, serve as the final daily fixed routes. In the evening, LANTa operates the Starlight service made of seven fixed routes, which serve Center City Allentown, the Lehigh Valley Mall, Palmer Park Mall, Whitehall Township, and Emmaus. The Night Owl service runs late night from Center City Allentown to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest. Metro also operates the Silverline Express, which is an express bus that serves the Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton areas via Route 22 and the Bethlehem Loop, which serves as a shuttle for Downtown Bethlehem. LANTaBus operates two bus rapid transit, 23 fixed bus routes, eight flex routes, four crosstown and circular routes that operate throughout the Lehigh Valley, and nine routes that operate during the school year for the Allentown School District. Routes with numbers in the 100s are trunk route and offer the largest operating schedules Monday through Sunday. The 200s routes operate through urban corridors Monday through Saturday during the day. The 300s routes operate mainly in suburban corridors Monday through Friday during the day. The 400s routes are reserved exclusively for the Allentown School District. The 500s routes are reservation based lines for suburban areas like Macungie. The 600s routes are circulars designed to address the needs of certain markets.

RouteNameTerminalsMajor streetsEBS Green Line(formerly 100)WhitehallWind Creek BethlehemMacArthur Rd., Hamilton Boulevard, Union BoulevardEBS Blue Line(formerly 101)TrexlertownEaston Intermodal Transportation CenterHamilton Boulevard, Hamilton Street, William Penn Highway102Union Blvd LocalLehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar CrestWind Creek BethlehemHamilton Boulevard, Union Boulevard103Susquehanna St NorthamptonNorthamptonLVIP VIIMacArthur Rd., Broadway, East 4th Street104EmmausAllentown Transportation CenterEmmausEmaus Avenue105HellertownLehigh Valley International AirportHellertownCatasaqua Rd., 4th St, Hellertown Road106Easton PalmerNorthampton CrossingsEaston Intermodal Transportation CenterNazareth Road, Northampton Street107Hanover AveVillage West Shopping CenterBethlehem Transportation CenterCedar Crest Boulevard, Tilghman Street, Hanover Avenue108Fountain Hill East HillsFountain HillBethlehem Square Shopping CenterStefko Boulevard, East Boulevard209LCCC Allentown Transportation CenterCumberland GardensLehigh Carbon Community CollegeWalbert Avenue, Route 309210South Mall to Lehigh Valley Mall, via ATCLehigh Valley MallSouth MallFullerton Avenue, Lehigh Street211Parkway WhitehallLehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar CrestMacArthur Towne CenterSouth 24th Street, Hamilton Street, MacArthur Road214Forks College Hill Easton (EITC)Easton Intermodal Transportation CenterRadial CorporationSullivan Trail216Easton NazarethNazareth Plaza (Nazareth)Easton Intermodal Transportation CenterNazareth Road, Greenwood Avenue, Freemansburg Avenue217Slate BeltRosetoNorthampton CrossingsRoute 512, Sullivan Tr., Route 248218FogelsvilleFogelsvilleAllentown Transportation CenterTilghman Street220Bethlehem EastonEaston Intermodal Transportation CenterBethlehem Transportation CenterFreemansburg Ave, Easton Ave312Bethlehem NazarethBethlehem Transportation CenterNazareth Plaza (Nazareth)Freemansburg Avenue, Hecktown Road, Route 191319Race StreetAllentown Transportation CenterBethlehem SquareRace Street, Stoke Park Road, Brodhead Road322Hamilton Blvd BreinigsvilleAllentown Transportation CenterNestleChew St., Hamilton Blvd.323Center ValleyPenn State Lehigh ValleyAllentown Transportation CenterS. 4th Street, Emaus Avenue, Lehigh Street324AirportStefko and BroadAllentown Transportation CenterAirport Road, American Parkway325Lehigh Valley Mall Palmerton via LCCCLehigh Valley MallPalmertonRoute 329, Route 309, Route 873, Main Street, Route 248327Fountain Hill LVIP IVBethlehem SquareFountain HillBrodhead Road, Center Street, Broadway603West Allentown CrosstownLehigh Valley MallParkway Shopping CenterMacArthur Rd., Allen Street, Jefferson Street605Bethlehem CirculatorCommerce Center BoulevardBethlehem Transportation CenterEast 4th Street, Market Street606South Easton CirculatorEaston Intermodal Transportation CenterEaston Food MarketSt. John Street, Line Street, Berwick Street.613Trexlertown BreinigsvilleTrexlertown Transit CenterFogelsville WeisIndustrial Blvd, Cetronia Rd, Hamilton Blvd.