PA: Crocamo backs regional bus service

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo backed the pursuit of a regional transportation agency during a long-range transportation plan meeting on Thursday.

“It’s something I would like to pursue as the county manager of Luzerne County and bring in our neighbors to do that,” Crocamo said. “I think it’s win-win for everybody. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight because each area will have to give up some perceived power.”

Bus transportation in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties comes from three separate agencies — the Luzerne County Transportation Authority, Hazleton Public Transit and the County of Lackawanna Transit System. A regional agency could also provide bus services into Carbon and Monroe counties, Crocamo said.

“We’ll never be SEPTA. I don’t want to be SEPTA,” Crocamo said, referring to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. “But we can be really competitive, not only in the commonwealth, but in the whole nation and even internationally.”

The Lackawanna-Luzerne Metropolitan Planning Organization conducted the first of three open house meetings on Thursday to gather public input on developing the long-range transportation plan. The Metropolitan Planning Organization is starting to work on the first update to its long-range plan since 2020 and plans to finish by February.

The plan will serve as a blueprint for the region’s decision-making on transportation projects and will serve as a spending plan through the year 2055. Public input received at the open houses will help drive the final plan recommendations and advance future transportation projects.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization is a regional transportation planning entity serving Lackawanna and Luzerne counties and determines how all federal and state highway and bridge funds are allocated. It includes representatives from the region’s two counties, local transit agencies and PennDOT.

During the 2024 fiscal year, the agency programmed a total of $107 million for 64 projects. Staffing is provided by both the Lackawanna County Regional Planning Commission and the Luzerne County Planning and Zoning Office.

Thursday’s meeting was at the Luzerne County Operations Center in Wyoming. The next open house meeting will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Lackawanna County Center for Public Safety, 30 Valley View Drive, Jessup. The third meeting will be at 1 p.m. Monday at the Butler Township Community Center, 411 W Butler Dr, Drums.

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