Several residents who ride Carbon Transit turned out to voice their opinions on proposed route changes to the bus operations.

The meeting, held Monday in Jim Thorpe, allowed residents the opportunity to provide feedback before the changes go into effect.

AJ Jordan, director of planning and scheduling for LANTA, spoke about the initial proposed changes, and how those proposed changes have been altered to reflect the feedback the operation has received. Changes will officially go into effect at the end of August.

“We are tasked with distributing transportation service equitably across the county based on feedback,” Jordan said, noting that when the initial proposed changes were released on the Carbon Transit website, LANTA heard from a lot of riders about those changes.

Because of this, he said that the proposed changes have been altered to reflect the feedback and outlined the new proposal, which includes keeping Route 701 and 702, realigning some of the route to access Mauch Chunk Lake Park, bring back service to Lehigh Valley and some additional stops in Carbon County, provide some Saturday service and alter some of the existing services that are on each route.

Carbon Transit has three types of service - shared ride, flex and fixed route - which travels to areas from the Nesquehoning depot, through Lansford, Summit Hill, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Bowmanstown and end in Palmerton. Both shared ride and flex routes require the rider calling ahead to schedule a pickup, while the fixed route operates using signed bus stops.

The changes would include adding three zones for flex routes instead of one overall route.

Riders in attendance, most who used the bus to attend the meeting, brought several additional comments, including not running a route to Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley shopping centers on Saturdays, but rather during the week, such as Mondays and Fridays to allow for weekend trips; cut out Jim Thorpe High School as a stop; add the Carbon Plaza Mall into the routes, which is in the plans; cut down on the time between buses in some areas such as Lansford; go to the Jim Thorpe Market; cut down on wait times for shared ride and flex route services; and focus more on residents rather than tourists.

One major issue many of the riders felt was not being addressed was getting the word out to the general public that this transportation service is available.

Many suggested that LANTA advertises in newspapers, much like neighboring Schuylkill Transit Services. One woman even cut out several of the other company’s ads and handed them to Jordan.

Another resident, Lewis Clark, of Lansford, said that he knew nothing about this meeting until an article in the Times News was published on Friday, and urged Jordan and LANTA to better provide information to the people they serve, including posting routes in high- and mid-rises, doctors’ offices, through advertising and other campaigns rather than focusing all efforts on social media and through the web.

Some residents did feel that the meeting went well and that they were heard.

“It was very productive and we got answers on what we needed,” said Portia Strelbski, a resident in the Lehigh Navigation Building in Jim Thorpe.

Gloria Remmel, also a resident of Jim Thorpe, agreed, saying that she was glad to hear that the stop to the Jim Thorpe Market will continue.

Jordan said that the feedback from the meeting will be taken back to LANTA to help with finalizing the upcoming changes to the routes to better serve the community.

A final change map is expected to be posted on the Carbon Transit website and on all buses on July 10.

Comments are still be accepted through the end of the week by either emailing surveycomments@lantabus.com, calling 888-253-8333 and providing your comment, or by telling your bus driver when you ride.