Route changes are coming to Lebanon Transit in 2024.
At a still-to-be-determined date, nine transit routes will be altered to better accommodate riders, according to Mike Ritter, marketing and outreach coordinator for Lebanon Transit.
“We were hoping it was going to be sometime this month (December) yet, but it (the change) will be early 2024 – although I don’t have a specific date yet,” said Ritter. “As soon as we have it, you will be some of the first people to know.”
Ritter said bus stop timetables will be different because officials are adding some new stops and in at least one case ending a route.
“The timetables for some of the routes have to change because we will be adding some stops to some of the routes because that means the bus will go out further,” he said. “So, some of the outbound times might be the same or similar but then, because the bus goes out further and it is going to new stops, when it comes back in toward the city there probably will be later stop times.”
Alterations to routes 16 and 16C are two of the more notable changes.
Ritter said Route 16 is a PM service bus only that currently runs from Lebanon and out to Hershey with a deviation up to the casino. It does this run four times every evening. Currently, during its third run, when the bus arrives back in Lebanon it does the 16C loop, which is literally a 30-minute run from approximately 9:30 to 10 p.m.
With the upcoming change, Route 16 will remain the same except for the elimination of the stop at the casino.
“It will still make four runs each day,” said Ritter. “But, with eliminating the deviation, we are able to reallocate resources. So this bus will now make the 16C run three times each day, instead of just one.”
Ritter added that after its second run, the bus will make the 16C journey. After the third run, it will make the 16C journey twice consecutively, before heading back out for its final run.
“So, all told, 16C will not only run at about 9:30, but also about 6:15 and 9. So we’re adding two additional 16C runs, both of which are at earlier times in the evening,” noted Ritter. “One of the perennial feedbacks was later times, so we’re making that happen.”
This message is posted in Lebanon Transit buses. (Provided photo)
A point of emphasis was to provide more runs to popular destinations.
“It (16C) is going to hit the Lebanon Walmart and the Lebanon Plaza Shopping Center where Kohl’s is,” said Ritter. “It’s going to kind of emphasize those areas and run down Lehman to Walmart and then come back into the city and go south down (Route) 72 to Kohl’s.”
The biggest change is the elimination of bus service from the city to Hollywood Casino in Grantville.
“That’s the one big elimination that we’re making is the casino,” said Ritter. “And frankly, the ridership just isn’t there. At the end of the day, we’re running buses out there that are empty or have very few people on them. What we’d like the community to understand with that is it’s not just, ‘Hey, we’re going to stop running to the casino and that’s it.’”
Transit authorities view that particular route change as a reallocation of resources.
“That frees up that bus to then do the rest of this run,” added Ritter. “(Routes) 16 and 16C is sort of a city run that the bus takes. That’s where we’re going to be able to add service to the Lebanon Walmart and the Lebanon Plaza. That’s going to be that bus specifically and it will help us run those routes later in the day. It’s still going to run, but just where the community needs it to run, and that’s in the city and not to Grantville.”
Ritter noted that some changes are designed to ensure buses stay on schedule – especially on routes that currently travel over railroad crossings.
“One of the high-level changes across the bus network is better utilization of Ninth and Tenth streets, and the reason for that is we avoid train delays,” said Ritter. “While that might shift the route over a block or two from where it is now, that is a change that we believe will ultimately prove to be a better route because our buses will run more on time since we don’t have to worry about trains. When they are stuck by a train they are stuck until the train goes through.”
Ritter said people using the two express bus services to Harrisburg and the Route 10 Express bus that travels to Jonestown shouldn’t see any schedule changes nor will riders using the express bus (Route SS that will be renamed Route 7) to the Park City Mall in Lancaster on Saturdays.
Also unaltered is Lebanon Transit’s SHARED Ride division services program, which encompasses the smaller 15-passenger vans that serve a specific clientele.
“While that service is accessible to the general public, it is generally a service that our senior community, ages 65 and up, and persons with disabilities who are not able to access our fixed route buses use, so we offer that as a service to the community as well,” said Ritter. “All of the changes we are seeing are to our fixed route buses.”
Ritter said there will be a hard switch when the route changes are implemented.
“That means that one day it (a route) will be one way and the next day it will switch,” said Ritter. “In other words, there will not be a soft rollout or an incremental kind of change. When we know when the formal date for the change will be, we will reach out in advance to let folks know what the specific date will be. We will be notifying the press and other outlets to announce the date the routes will change.”
Ritter said the route modifications were made after a customer survey and transit study conducted by a third-party vendor determined how the transit system could better serve users.
A transit development study was launched in October 2022 and incorporated customer surveys into that data. In June 2023, the transit system released a draft study to gather additional public comments and feedback that was also incorporated into the new route plans.
“That change (Route 16C) is a direct response to people wanting later bus times and more specifically later bus times that go to shopping areas so that folks can go grocery shopping or do other shopping because they work during the day,” added Ritter.
Another key is the transit system being responsive to new development.
“Broadly speaking, this is also in response to the development in the community,” said Ritter. “When we see new housing is going in and new retail shopping space is going in, we want to respond to those changes because, obviously, this is where people are going to go and we want to be able to help people get there.”
He emphasized that community residents should reach out to transit officials if they have questions or concerns about the pending changes.
“We appreciate that change can be hard, but we believe these are good changes that will benefit the community,” said Ritter. “Again, we’re trying to get to places where people are living, places where we know people want to shop and where they work.”
Concerning the fee schedule, Ritter emphasized when asked by LebTown that bus fares will remain the same even though new stops are being added throughout the county.
Here are the route changes as posted on the transit’s website:
- ROUTE 1: Extends service to the Lebanon Expo Center and North Cornwall Commons; eliminates Oak and 22nd streets and instead loops from Walnut Street down Chestnut Street (to accommodate the forthcoming Chestnut View Apartments).
- ROUTE 2: Remains interlined with Route 3 until return to 30-minute service; crosses the railroad on 9th Street (outbound) and 10th Street (inbound), instead of on 8th Street to avoid rail delays.
- ROUTE 3: Eliminates portion of route on 7th Street, instead traveling north on 9th Street to avoid rail delays.
- ROUTE 4: Adds stop at Weis Markets east of Lebanon City, while eliminating stop at Aldi (served by Route 17); Eliminates portion of route on 3rd Avenue and Pershing, instead utilizing 5th Avenue.
- ROUTE 6: Eliminates service near Lebanon High School; eliminates portion of route on Oak Street and Lincoln Avenue. Operates both ways on State Drive to/from Lebanon VA Medical Center, where it makes a complete loop of the campus.
- ROUTE 8 (Saturday Only!): Eastbound (return) trip from Hershey will use Route 422 to provide service to downtown Hershey.
- ROUTE 16: Eliminates service to Hollywood Casino; remainder of route remains the same, except time-saving here allows additional trips and more destinations on Route 16C (below).
- ROUTE 16C: Increases the number of trips each day; serves Lebanon Walmart first after departing transfer station; adds service to Lebanon Plaza (Kohl’s, etc.); utilizes Route 72 for north- and south-bound and Lehman Street for east- and west-bound, eliminating portions of route on 16th and Walnut streets.
- ROUTE 17: Connects with Route 2 at Lebanon Walmart, no longer extending to Weis (served by Route 4); bypasses the Schneider Drive park-and-ride; Adds a stop at Aldi; utilizes 9th Street out of the transfer station instead of 4th Street to avoid rail delays.
- Route SS will become Route 7.
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