Founded | 1979 |
---|---|
Headquarters | 1 MCTA Drive Swiftwater, Pennsylvania |
Locale | Swiftwater, Pennsylvania |
Service area | Monroe County, Pennsylvania |
Service type | Bus, Paratransit |
Routes | 7( 4 local, 2 shuttles, 1 Express) |
Fleet | 19 Fixed Route, 42 Paratransit |
Daily ridership | 1,600 |
Website | www.gomcta.com |
The Monroe County Transit Authority (MCTA), also known as the Pocono Pony, is a public transportation service located in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It provides rural and inter-city fixed route bus and paratransit service within the county. [1] MCTA is funded in part by PennDOT, the Federal Transit Administration, local match and farebox revenue. [2] [3]
In 2013, East Stroudsburg was designated an Urbanized Zone and became a Metropolitan Statistical Area. [4] Monroe County Transit Authority is now considered an urban transit system by the Federal Transit Administration.
MCTA had over 318,709 riders in 2012 on both the fixed route bus and paratransit programs.
MCTA provides fixed route service along Monroe County's primary roadways. Service is generally hourly during weekdays, varied on Saturday in East Stroudsburg, Stroudsburg, Stroud Township, Bartonsville, Tannersville, Mt. Pocono and Coolbaugh Township. The Red Route provides service to East Stroudsburg University and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono. The Blue Route has service to Northampton Community College, Monroe Campus, the Pocono Premium Outlets in Tannersville, Mt. Pocono and Coolbaugh Township. There is no service on Sunday.
In 2013, MCTA launched a Live Bus View for patrons to view the actual location of the buses. In November 2013, MCTA will be launching a new fare system that will use state of the art contactless fare cards. The new fare cards will be called "MoGo" as in "Miles to Go." Miles is the official mascot of the Monroe County Transit Authority.
In 2014, the Blue bus was extended to go into the new Northampton Community College campus. As the rural area developed a new resort opened up called Kalahari Resort this caused them to bring at least two new bus route, the silver and purple. The silver bus ran as an extension of a blue bus to Kalahari Resort, following the Blue bus on Route 196 and on Route 940. The purple was a trial route that ran from Martz Bus Terminal in Mount Pocono all the way to the Pocono Mountain Library in Tobyhanna. Sadly, still no Saturday service for these new routes.
When the bridge construction in Stroudsburg on Bridge came on June 16, 2016, this caused the buses to create a drastic change due to the heavy traffic conditions on the bus routes. The buses but Orange all run on a reduced route and the silver was made a loop, the purple was cancelled due to reduced ridership. Another bus route had also been able to help feed the commuters in the local area called the Stroudsburg Circular to help people travel through the various areas in East Stroudsburg area via Main Street and Watergate Apartments area. As this happens the system is still trying to work out the bus routing and patterns.
MCTA operates the following routes: [5]
Route | Line Name | Terminals | Places Served | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
101 | Red Route | St. Luke's Hospital | Eagles Glen/Big Lots | Stroudsburg Weis, Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, Stroudsburg ShopRite, East Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg Walmart, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono, East Stroudsburg University | operates Monday-Saturday |
102 | Blue Route | St. Luke's Hospital | Mountain Center | Giant, Tannersville, Tannersville Weis, Northampton Community College Monroe Campus, Pocono Premium Outlets, Mount Airy Casino Resort, Mt. Pocono, Mt. Pocono Walmart, Mt. Pocono Plaza | operates Monday-Saturday |
103 | Silver Route | Kalahari | A Pocono Country Place | Mt. Pocono, Mt. Pocono Walmart, Mt. Pocono Plaza | operates Monday-Saturday |
201 | Orange Route | Mt. Effort | Bartonsville | Kinsley's ShopRite, Brodheadsville, Northampton Community College Monroe Campus, St. Luke's Hospital, Drivers License Center, Kalahari | operates Monday-Friday, loop route |
202 | Yellow Route | Coordinated Health | DEWA South Contact Station | Eagle Valley Weis, Eagles Glen/Big Lots, Marshalls Creek, Marshalls Creek Weis, Price Chopper, Super Foodtown, Fernwood Resort | operates Monday-Friday |
203 | Violet Route | St. Luke's Hospital | Coordinated Health | Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Eagle Valley Weis, Eagles Glen/Big Lots | operates Monday-Friday |
401 | Tobyhanna Express | Eagle Valley Wendy's | Tobyhanna Army Depot | Stroudsburg Weis, Giant, Pocono Township Ambulance | operates Monday-Friday, commuter service to Tobyhanna Army Depot |
402 | Eastburg Express | A Pocono Country Place | St. Luke's Hospital | Mt. Pocono Walmart, Sanofi Pasteur, Pocono Premium Outlets, Northampton Community College Monroe Campus, Tannersville Weis, Giant | operates Monday-Friday, single morning trip from A Pocono Country Place to St. Luke's Hospital, continued service to Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg via Route 101 |
The Tobyhanna Express charges premium fare of $2.50
The Monroe County Transit Authority schedule can be found via Google Transit.
Curb to curb paratransit service is available at a discounted cost to eligible populations. Examples of eligible groups are senior citizens, 65 years or older, persons with disabilities and Medical Assistance Transportation Program participants. [6]
MCTA, with funding from a Transit in the Park pilot grant from DEWA, began providing summer weekend service to areas within the park. In 2013, MCTA is providing free weekend service between Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend to Delaware Water Gap borough, Shawnee Inn, Smithfield Beach, Fernwood Resort, Bushkill Boat Launch and Dingmans Boat Launch. [7] This is an external link to the schedule. [ permanent dead link ]
Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and includes the Pocono Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg.
East Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and part of the Pocono Mountains region of the state. Originally known as Dansbury, East Stroudsburg was renamed for geographic reasons when the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad opened a station in East Stroudsburg. Despite its name being derivative of its bordering borough, Stroudsburg, it has almost twice the population.
Mount Pocono is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It is located nearly centered in the southernmost county of five in the northeastern corner that are part of the Pocono Mountains. The borough serves as a local highway nexus, and sees a lot of tourist traffic making use of resources in the region. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 3,083 residents.
Tobyhanna Township is a township in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,290 at the 2020 census. Tobyhanna Township has Tobyhanna Elementary Center and Locust Lake Village.
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The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos, are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The name Pocono is derived from the Munsee word Pokawachne, which means "Creek Between Two Hills".
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Northeastern Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Carbondale. A portion of this region is located in the New York City metropolitan area. Recently, Pennsylvania tourism boards have described Northeastern Pennsylvania as Upstate Pennsylvania.
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Pennsylvania Route 715 (PA 715) is a 17.7-mile-long (28.5 km) north–south state route located entirely in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in the Chestnuthill Township hamlet of Brodheadsville. The northern terminus is at PA 191 in the Paradise Township hamlet of Henryville. PA 715 also intersects Interstate 80 (I-80) in Tannersville at Exit 299. The route is a two-lane undivided road running through forested areas of the Pocono Mountains. The road was paved between 1930 and the 1940s. PA 715 was designated to its present alignment in 1963.
Pocono Mountain School District, often abbreviated PMSD for short, is a large, rural public school district located in Monroe County in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
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