Why so few buses on the highways?

In most wealthy countries rail and bus service is readily available. Trips of less than 200 miles are not done by air. We have had no passenger rail service for many years. Our present bus service is infrequent and rarely uses the limited access highways. The closest express buses leave from State College straight to New York City and Pittsburgh. Bus companies are fragmented and have no incentive to work together to provide frequent integrated service. Without substantial federal subsidies, frequent regularly scheduled commercial flights from our airports seem unlikely. We have become a transportation desert.

Lycoming College and Penn College of Technology are important to the local economy. Improving transportation will help them grow. Tourism and people working remotely would also benefit from better connections to nearby high-cost metropolitan areas. An integrated bus system could get us to major airports. Travel would be more convenient.

The highway network already exists. We have the benefit of major east west and north south highways right here in town. For short trips, express bus service is less expensive than flying, takes about the same amount of time, and uses much less fuel. We should prioritize our efforts to develop a network of bus routes to address these trips. With the advances in digital networks coordinating these routes is feasible.

Right now, the bus service we do have is slow and inconvenient because the state provides subsidies for bus service in rural areas using only secondary roads. We must change this by encouraging our elected representatives to make a transportation system that uses a network of frequent integrated express buses.

DAVID STONE

Williamsport

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom