Schuylkill Transportation System announced more benefits to riding the Pottsville-McAdoo, fixed route that will roll out this June.

STS Marketing Coordinator Joan Breslin said in a meeting on Wednesday at St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale that the expanded route will now be free every Monday in June.

Breslin said they hope the offer will allow passengers to become familiar with the new route.

“The added stops to the route is an adjustment for people, but we’re confident that once people are familiar with the route, it will be one of our most traveled,” Breslin said. “It was a tough winter, and we just rolled it out, so people weren’t able to take advantage of it as much.”

At the meeting, Breslin was able to view the bus route’s live feed via STS’s transportation app. Five people were on the fixed route bus due into St. Luke’s Miners campus. Breslin said the age of the route and the many rural stops also play into how heavily it is used.

“The success of this route heavily weighs on ridership.”

On Jan. 2, STS dedicated a bus route from Pottsville to Miners Campus, and other locales throughout the Schuylkill Valley.

The new route incorporates changes to the Middleport-Tamaqua- McAdoo route. It runs from Pottsville’s Union Station three times a day, departing at 8 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. The loop route stops at St. Luke’s Miners at 9:25 a.m., 10:25 a.m., 11:57 a.m., 12:57 p.m., 2:56 p.m., and the final time at 4:05 p.m., before returning to Union Station at 5:10 p.m.

In total, the route has 54 regularly scheduled stops with six stops through Coaldale and other towns that can be stopped at by rider request.

Breslin suggested that interested riders at the requested stops call the company at least half an hour before the bus’s estimated arrival time.

“It’s really exciting, and we’re so thankful to STS for dedicating this fixed bus route,” said Micah Gursky, St. Luke’s Rural Health Clinic administrator who worked with STS on making the route a reality. “Our patients never had a fixed bus route with regular scheduled stops come to St. Luke’s Miners Campus before.”

Gursky said that St. Luke’s has been working with STS for several years in hopes of getting a route. The option became available with the closing of the Schuylkill Mall, leaving STS with available buses and drivers to create the new route.

Before the newly established route, patients would need to call to make arrangements for transportation as part of STS’s ride share program.

Though the ride share is still a viable option, Breslin said the fixed route can still cater to St. Luke’s patients.

Patients from Pottsville, Mechanicsville, Port Carbon, Cumbola, New Philadelphia, Middleport, Tuscarora, Tamaqua, Coaldale, Hometown and McAdoo can work with St. Luke’s scheduling team so that appointments and testing will correspond with these stops.

STS Executive Director David Bekisz is pleased to turn a negative of the closing of the Schuylkill Mall into a positive to better serve the eastern part of Schuylkill County.

“This is exciting for us,” Gursky said. “People now have the opportunity to ride the bus to see their doctors and visit the hospital. I’ve lived here my whole life and there’s never been a consistent fixed bus route service to St. Luke’s Miners Campus before for these communities. It comes as an adjustment for some, but can be an asset to an area that hasn’t had public transit ever before. We are grateful to STS for making this happen for the people of Schuylkill County.”

Breslin added that the route will also be a boon for local businesses in the Tamaqua area.

“Lots has been going on in Tamaqua recently that make it an attractive tourist destination. Our stops at the Hometown market on Wednesday and multiple in-own stops any day will make it easier to visit Tamaqua and see all the town has to offer,” Breslin said. “Working together with Tamaqua businesses, we can see this route becoming a hit. People could visit the tons of restaurants and business that make Tamaqua special, and I hope they take advantage of the free ride program in June.”