The County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) is the operator of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

for the city of

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

urban area and its surrounding area of

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton. The county ...

. It began operations in 1972, largely using routes established by predecessor Scranton Transit. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

Routes

The COLTS system operates 36 distinct routes. Each route may operate at different times, other than weekdays. Most routes depart from the Lackawanna Transit Center on Lackawanna Avenue, near the

Mall at Steamtown The Marketplace at Steamtown (formerly The Mall at Steamtown) is a shopping mall in Scranton, Pennsylvania. United States. It was conceived in the mid-1980s as the keystone of downtown revitalization, though the project was not completed until 1993 ...

, in Downtown Scranton. * 12 Jessup * 13 Drinker/Marywood (Saturdays) * 14 Drinker * 18 Petersburg * 21 East Mountain * 25 Valley View * 26 Hilltop * 28 Pittston * 29 Stauffer Industrial Park via South Main * 31 Old Forge * 34 Keyser Valley (Saturday) * 35 Keyser Valley (Weekday) * 36 Lafayette (Weekday) * 37 Lafayette/Oram (Saturday) * 38 Oram (Weekday) * 41 High Works * 43 Viewmont/Bangor * 45 Viewmont Mall Express * 46 Mall Circulator * 48 Dalton/Waverly/Clarks Summit (Weekday) * 49 Dalton/Waverly/Clarks Summit (Saturday) * 50 Shoppers Special * 52 Carbondale * 53 Marywood/University of Scranton * 54 Greenridge/Dickson City * 71 Evening City Circle North * 72 Evening City Circle South * 73 Saturday Night Special (seasonal) * 82 Simpson/Carbondale/Route 6 * 83 Newton/Ransom * 84 Chinchilla/Clarks Green/Justus * 96 First Friday Circulator * 101 The Bergamino Express

Fleet

COLTS operates a mix of

Gillig Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...

branded buses in the

Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy unm ...

, Advantage and

BRT BRT may refer to: Transportation * Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains * British Rail Telecommunications * Brookhaven Rail Terminal * Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City * Bro ...

models, in 30 and 35 foot lengths. In addition, some smaller, cutaway style vans perform service on lower patronized routes. COLTS operates a fleet of 35 buses.

Current fleet

*2009: 2 35 ft.

Gillig Low Floor The Gillig Low Floor (originally named Gillig H2000LF and also nicknamed Gillig Advantage) is a transit bus manufactured by the Gillig Corporation. The second low-floor bus introduced in the United States (after the New Flyer LF), the Low Floor ...

s powered by Cummins ISL (301-302) *2011: 4 35 ft. Gillig BRT

hybrid electric bus A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a Diesel-electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid Diesel-el ...

es powered by Cummins ISB6.7 (303-306) 2 Ford E-450/Phoenix cutaways (307-308) (Used on routes with lower ridership) *2012: 9 35 ft. Gillig BRT hybrid electric buses powered by Cummins ISB6.7 (309-317) *2015: 5 35 ft. Gillig BRTs powered by Cummins ISL9 (318-322) *2018: 10 35 ft. Gillig BRT CNG buses powered by Cummins Westport L9N (323-332) *2019: 3 35 ft. Gillig BRT CNG buses powered by Cummins Westport L9N (333-335)

Connections to other agencies

COLTS bus service connects to conventional

Luzerne County Transportation Authority The Luzerne County Transportation Authority (LCTA) is the operator of mass transportation in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and portions of surrounding Luzerne County. Services provided by the LCTA replaced previously offered services ...

(LCTA) bus service at West Pittston, Old Forge, and Mohegan Sun Casino. In addition, less frequent with LCTA meet up with COLTS buses at the Wyoming Street transfer center near the Mall at Steamtown weekdays and Saturdays. On Lackawanna Avenue, at the Lackawanna Transit Center, COLTS service connects with

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

Martz Trailways Martz Group is a bus company headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, operating intercity commuter buses, charter buses, and tours. The company operates Martz Trailways, which is a part of the Trailways Transportation System. Martz Trailways ...

New York Trailways Trailways of New York is one of the largest privately held transportation companies based in New York State. It employs over 450 people and carries passengers more than 80 million miles annually. TrailwaysNY, as it is known, operates over 150 tr ...

, and Fullington Trailways.

Criticism

Ban on religious-based content

In 2013, after NEPA Freethought Society spent 18 months attempting to advertise their group, which used the word "Atheists", COLTS denied his request, calling it, "Too controversial". After trying again with a similar advertisement, COLTS responded by revising their advertising policy to reject all forms of religion-based advertisements. As COLTS had previously allowed several churches, a political candidate, and a blog that focused on

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

, and

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White ...

to all run advertisements in the past, COLTS was subsequently sued, in order to remove the ban.

References

{{reflist

External links

County of Lackawanna Transit System Home
Bus transportation in Pennsylvania Transportation in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania