Residents of the Panther Valley and Jim Thorpe now have convenient weekend transportation to visit Mauch Chunk Lake Park during the summer months.

The same service will also provide them with transportation between the communities.

Carbon Transit began running buses this past Saturday to the park, with stops occurring at numerous locations in the towns of Summit Hill, Lansford, Nesquehoning and Jim Thorpe. There are three stops per day at each of the bus stops.

Carbon Transit is administered by Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority.

A.J. Jordan, manager of planning for LANTA, rode on the bus the first day. Also on ride was Carbon County Commissioner Chris Lukasevich, who was a strong proponent for the bus service.

Jordan said the bus rides cost $2 per person each way. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

The bus fare does not include admission to the Mauch Chunk Lake Park.

Besides riding the bus to the park, riders also could use the service to visit Jim Thorpe or other communities on the bus stop list.

On the first day of the service, riders were scarce. The first bus run saw just one passenger picked up.

Both Jordan and Lukasevich are optimistic more people will take advantage. Weather might have been a factor in the low ridership because of cloudy skies, the threat of rain and especially the air quality problems caused by the Canadian wildfires.

Lukasevich said he is going to get more promotion for the service, including listing the information on social media.

He said, “I hear so much with young people on their iPhones. The greatest failure is the failure to try.”

“The last thing I want to see is a kid sitting on the porch looking bored when they have the opportunity now to go to the lake,” he said. “This service is for all ages.”

He said the park is gaining in popularity with season membership reaching a record high this year. The memberships total just shy of 500, while last year there were 470 park memberships.

Another positive note about the park this year is that lifeguard positions are filled. There are 11 lifeguards, “which is history making,” he said. This includes 10 lifeguards and a lifeguard supervisor. It’s the first time there have been enough lifeguards to name someone lifeguard supervisor, he said.

Jordan is a strong proponent of public transportation. The Allentown area resident, originally from Milwaukee, said he doesn’t even own a car. For special occasions, he rents a vehicle but other times he relies on public transport. Renting a car periodically is less expensive than owning a car, he said.

“I grew up in Milwaukee without a car,” he said. “I loved the bus.”

A telephone app is available from the App Store called “Transit” which provides details on the location of the lake transport buses, Jordan said.

Lukasevich said the first passenger was someone from Panther Valley who was going to Mauch Chunk Lake Park for the first time.