Pennsylvania’s new Democratic majority could lead to a push for public transit funding.

Governor Josh Shapiro says it’s a priority. But after years of funding challenges, advocates say the Commonwealth needs a long-term solution.

“Over 12,000 people a day take LANTA bus trips,” Scott Slingerland says.

Bradley Snyder is one of those people.

“On a daily basis, to and from work,” Bradley Snyder says. “There isn’t nowhere in the Lehigh Valley that I can’t get to, to do shopping, to get to work, as I mentioned before, and even to go visit my daughter.”

But keeping that service running has become increasingly difficult. Pennsylvania’s last major transportation funding overhaul was passed more than a decade ago, in 2013.

“We’ve been either, you know, using reserve funds or flexing money from other places or using the last of those COVID relief dollars,” Statewide Campaign Manager for Transit for All PA, Connor Descheemaker says.

Connor Descheemaker with Transit for All PA says state funding is key, especially for agencies like LANTA.

“In the span of the last 18 months or so, service has been cut three times, and fares have been raised,” Descheemaker says.

Local advocates say reliable funding could help address service gaps across the Valley.

“To maintain a consistent level of service and then to provide service expanding to meet the growing needs of the community,” Executive Director of the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, Scott Slingerland says.

That includes making sure buses run when and where people need them.

“LANTA bus needs to provide service, you know, different times of the day for people who get up to work at 5 a.m. to people who finish work at 11 p.m. or midnight,” Slingerland says.

With Democrats now controlling state government, Governor Josh Shapiro says he can ‘guarantee’ they will fund mass transit.

“The governor is right to put public transportation funding as job one because it is an urgent thing,” Descheemaker says. “But we need something that is comprehensive and is going to get us 10 years or more of a solution.”

Shapiro has not announced a finalized funding plan. Advocates say the next step is making sure that commitment translates into lasting support for transit.

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