The Carbon County Commissioners are considering a proposed fare increase for the county’s shared ride service.

But seniors who use the service say the increase would hurt those living on a fixed income.

“Our area is rural. We need access to dependable and fairly priced transportation. There are many of us that as we’re aging, we’re driving less — we can’t drive to doctor appointments. It’s a real necessity,” said Helene Dombrowski of Albrightsville.

Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, which manages Carbon County Community Transit, has asked the commissioners to raise fares due to rising costs and a reduced budget from the state.

If approved, the increase of 90 cents per ride would go into effect later this month.

On Thursday, the commissioners heard from LANTA’s executive director as well as a group of seniors who use the service to travel to the Penn-Kidder Senior Center.

The commissioners said it is a challenge to provide affordable transportation in a rural area like Carbon County — one they raised with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, during his recent visit to the county.

“Transportation in Carbon County is the biggest challenge because we’re so rural, so spread out, and financially it’s a huge burden,” said Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein.

The Carbon County Community Transit Shared ride paratransit is a public transportation service available to all residents and visitors in Carbon County, but it is different from a normal bus in that riders are picked up at home and dropped at their destination. It is available 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The base fare to use the service is $27 one-way, but senior citizens and people with disabilities can ride for much less if they don’t have access to a fixed-route bus like CCCT’s Lynx service. One-third of riders ride for free through the state’s medical assistance program.

LANTA has proposed raising the one-way base fare for seniors, which it calls a “co-pay,” to $4.05 from $3.15. Some qualify for other sponsorships to lower the cost.

LANTA’s Executive Director Owen O’Neil told the commissioners on Thursday that the co-pay increase is necessary to continue the current level of service amid cover rising costs and some lost subsidies from the state.

“We understand that any time you raise the fare it’s an additional burden on the users of the system. It’s something we try to avoid, try to put off as much as we can,” he said.

He said many rural counties don’t offer the same level of service as CCCT paratransit does.

O’Neil said that over the past 12 years, a senior’s co-pay has only increased twice, by a total of $1.35.

Some of the seniors said the increase would force them to make tough choices because of their fixed income.

Wanda McNichol said she currently attends the Penn-Kidder Senior Center three times per week, using the shared ride service. If the increase went into effect, she would have to cut that back to just once weekly.

“Ninety cents might not mean a lot to you, but it means a lot to me,” she said.

The riders said that they feel the system could be more efficient. Neighbors who attend the senior center said they will schedule rides to the center at the same time, and be picked up by different buses.

“That’s wasteful. We’re all going to the senior center. I don’t care if there’s other people on the buses,” Julie Oneill said.

Owen O’Neil said despite those appearances, the system is actually more efficient than ever thanks to scheduling software.

John DeWald said that seniors get to ride public buses for free in Philadelphia.

He said paratransit should be free to Carbon residents who don’t have access to public bus service.

O’Neil said that’s true in Carbon County as well, but the only qualifying “fixed route” bus is the Carbon County Lynx, which operates between Nesquehoning, Lehighton and Slatington.

He said his agency is currently working to expand that route and additional stops could be available in the coming months.

Some seniors complained that the notices advertising the increase were hard to find on the bus, and they had trouble using the phone number set up for comments. O’Neil acknowledged that the agency was dealing with phone issues during the comment period.

They did offer praise for at least one of the van drivers, Tracy.

O’Neil said the planned rate increase has been delayed from the advertised date of March 16 to March 23 or 30, depending on when the commissioners decide to vote.