After years of steady progress, the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority — our region’s public transit backbone — is now facing a looming crisis. Despite strong ridership, service expansions, and a rapidly growing population in the Lehigh Valley, LANTA is staring down a funding cliff that could set our region back just when it’s gaining momentum.
Let’s be clear, this crisis needs to be fixed by policymakers in Harrisburg — and quickly. The state budget, due on June 30, is now months overdue. Without action from the Pennsylvania legislature, LANTA projects a staggering 20% cut in bus service and a 25% fare increase by 2026. Shared-ride services will face an even worse state — harming our most vulnerable and transit-dependent neighbors.
That is simply unacceptable.
In the Lehigh Valley, shift workers ride LANTA buses daily to the large number of warehouse jobs in the Macungie/Fogelsville and Palmer/Lower Nazareth areas. A 2025 LANTA rider survey reports that 75% of LANTA riders use the bus to get back and forth to work. Moreover, so far this school year, LANTA has 3,000 to 4,000 rides each day among Allentown School District students traveling back and forth to classes.
LANTA is a driver of jobs, economic growth and a lifeline for many in our community, something the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce has noted explicitly. What our leaders need to understand is this isn’t just a transportation issue — it’s a threat to regional economic development, job access and quality of life in the third-largest transit market in our state.
Notably, LANTA has done everything right. Unlike many systems across the country, LANTA has bounced back from the pandemic stronger than ever — restoring and even increasing service, attracting riders back to the system, and serving a region that continues to grow. In a time when many transit systems are struggling, LANTA has been a quiet success story.
But when leaders in our state talk about public transit, the conversation usually centers on the usual suspects: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. And by focusing so heavily on the transportation needs of our largest cities, smaller cities and towns, like those in the Lehigh Valley, where safe and reliable transit is just as essential as the big cities is often treated as an afterthought.
The transit systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have been able to get approval from Gov. Shapiro’s administration to use funds intended for future capital projects as operating money for the next two years, temporarily staving off their own fiscal cliffs. That tool is not available to transit systems like LANTA or the other fixed-route and shared-ride providers that serve smaller cities and rural areas across Pennsylvania. Those systems have to apply each year for money to do large projects. LANTA has applied for permission for a funding flex but as of the writing of this editorial has not gotten an answer from the state.
That means while Philly and Pittsburgh get a breather, the Lehigh Valley and many others are left without options.
LANTA has submitted a request to PennDOT for a similar two-year stabilization period. Our leaders must find a way to protect systems like LANTA from immediate and devastating cuts — and make them whole for the same two-year period that SEPTA and PRT have been granted.
While this short-term fix is immediately critical, a long-term solution is still needed. The administration and the legislature should build on the attention and work dedicated to the transit issue over the past two years and work to adopt long term transit funding legislation.
Our Lehigh Valley delegation has worked tirelessly to find a solution and push for this funding. Now, we need the rest of the General Assembly to follow their lead and do the same.
Transit shouldn’t be a luxury for major cities alone. The Lehigh Valley is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. A fully funded LANTA system supports workers, businesses, students, seniors and people with disabilities. It keeps our economy moving and our communities connected.
If policymakers in Harrisburg are serious about growing Pennsylvania’s economy and building vibrant communities beyond its biggest cities, this is the moment to prove it.
It’s time to invest in LANTA — and in the future of the Lehigh Valley.
This is a contributed opinion column. Scott Slingerland is executive director for the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, a nonprofit that educates and advocates for public transit, smart bicycling and pedestrian access. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. Do you have a perspective to share? Learn more about how we handle guest opinion submissions at themorningcall.com/opinions.