Monroe County Transit Authority

Last updated
Monroe County Transit Authority
Captured 2006-05-30 00006 (1).jpg
Founded1979
Headquarters1 MCTA Drive
Swiftwater, Pennsylvania
LocaleSwiftwater, Pennsylvania
Service areaMonroe County, Pennsylvania
Service type Bus, Paratransit
Routes7( 4 local, 2 shuttles, 1 Express)
Fleet14 Fixed Route, 42 Paratransit
Daily ridership1,600
Website www.gomcta.com

The Monroe County Transit Authority (MCTA), also known as the Pocono Pony, is a public transportation service that services 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]

Contents

In 2023, East Stroudsburg was un-designated a metropolitan statistical area and became a micropolitan statistical area. [4] Monroe County Transit Authority is now considered a rural transit system by the Federal Transit Administration.

MCTA had over 297,727 riders in FY2024 on both the fixed route bus and paratransit programs.

Fixed route service

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, St. Luke's University Health Network 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]

RouteLine NameTerminalsPlaces ServedNotes
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 RouteSt. Luke's HospitalMountain Center Giant, Tannersville, Tannersville Weis, Northampton Community College Monroe Campus, Pocono Premium Outlets, Mount Airy Casino Resort, Mt. Pocono, Mt. Pocono Walmart, Mt. Pocono Plazaoperates Monday-Saturday
103
Silver Route Kalahari A Pocono Country PlaceMt. Pocono, Mt. Pocono Walmart, Mt. Pocono Plazaoperates Monday-Saturday
204
Green RouteGreat Wolf LodgeStroud MallPocono, Tannersville, Bartsonville, Stroudoperates Monday-Saturday
402
Eastburg ExpressA Pocono Country PlaceSt. Luke's HospitalMt. Pocono Walmart, Sanofi Pasteur, Pocono Premium Outlets, Northampton Community College Monroe Campus, Tannersville Weis, Giantoperates 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 Monroe County Transit Authority schedule can be found via Google Transit.

Shared ride service

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]

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Transit in the Park

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]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state. The county was formed from sections of Northampton and Pike counties on April 1, 1836. It was named in honor of James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. The county borders Northampton County and the Lehigh Valley to its south, Pike and Wayne counties to its north, Carbon and Luzerne counties to its west, and the Delaware River and Warren County, New Jersey to its east. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, but also receives media from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia radio and television markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

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.

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Mount Pocono is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The borough serves as a local highway nexus, and sees much tourist traffic making use of resources in the region. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 3,083 residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Stroudsburg is a borough in and the county seat of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies within the Poconos region approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence of Brodhead Creek, McMichaels, and Pocono Creeks in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Stroudsburg is part of the East Stroudsburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the New York combined statistical area. The population was 5,927 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobyhanna Township, Pennsylvania</span> Place in Pennsylvania, United States

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References

  1. "Home". gomcta.com.
  2. "Bureau of Public Transportation Services and Programs Map: County Description". Archived from the original on 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  3. ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/bureaus/PublicTransportation/GeneralInformation/BPT%20Annual%20Report%20FINAL%202007-08_4%2028%2009.pdf%5B‍%5D
  4. "OMB Bulletin No. 23" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. July 21, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  5. "Pocono Pony Routes". Monroe County Transit Authority. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  6. "Pocono Pony Shared Ride How to Ride".
  7. "Transit in the Park".