Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANta) and Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) have entered into an agreement that will offer dramatic bus fare reductions for the college's seven thousand students, faculty and staff. The program, which begins with the current spring semester, was jointly announced by Owen P. O'Neil, LANta's executive director, and Ann Bieber, president of LCCC.
Under the agreement the LCCC will purchase bus passes from LANta at a 20 percent discount, and the college, in turn, will offer an additional 20 percent reduction to students, faculty and staff.
"With LCCC's campus in Schnecksville and busy Downtown Allentown Donley Center we believe there is a great potential for students and others on campus to take advantage of the convenience of public transit," said O'Neil. "We are happy to work with LANta to make available to our campus community a substantial discount for those who choose to take the bus to class, activities or their jobs at our two locations in Lehigh County," added Bieber.
LANta buses will drop off and pick up riders at a convenient on-campus bus shelter in Schnecksville, while passengers at the Donley Center have easy access to the Allentown Transportation Center at 7th and Linden Streets.
The arrangement between LANta and LCCC mirrors a growing number of similar programs throughout the country. "Transit authorities and colleges have come to realize there is a growing need for low-cost public transportation which benefits the college communities, the transit authorities and the public at large," O'Neil said.
