SCRANTON -- The County of Lackawanna Transit System, COLTS, announced Thursday morning that it wants to cut back on routes and bus service to save money.
It's been referred to as the "ghost rider" scandal and because of it, COLTS owes the state $6 million over the next few years.
That bill is forcing cuts that were already planned to be more severe.
COLTS officials told us today they may have to lay off some employees.
PennDOT says COLTS received $6 million in state subsidies it didn't deserve. Now, COLTS says they have to tighten the belt even more.
"We were going to make some minor cuts; however with the payback from PennDOT, it expedited it and made it deeper," said COLTS executive director Bob Fiume.
Fiume called it a sin of the past that COLTS employees and riders will now have to pay for.
COLTS may lay off 10 to 15 drivers and managers in January. They are also proposing to cut six bus routes and eliminate buses on Saturdays all together.
"Saturdays is a big savings because obviously that's one day that we don't have people working. They're now working five days during the week," Fiume said.
COLTS is cutting back but expanding at the same time. It is in the middle of a multimillion dollar construction project to build a new intermodal center in downtown Scranton. But, COLTS officials say that this won't be affected by the cutbacks. It's paid for mostly through grant money.
At the current bus hub on Wyoming Avenue, COLTS bus riders were busy checking on the COLTS website and in the newspaper to see if their bus route was on the chopping block.
Lee Frutchey would lose his ride to college.
"Just find friends to carpool with, I guess. It's not good. I feel bad for the people who are going to get laid off, and if I can't get to school, I don't know what I'm going to do."
COLTS says they picked routes that are underutilized or could be covered by other buses.
Most riders say it's the faces that they would miss the most.
"I feel sorry for the people it's going to affect. Especially these great bus drivers, you know, they're nice. But, you know, everybody has to pay the piper," said Carol Yescavage of Scranton.
COLTS has planned a series of public meetings early next week for riders to chime in on the routes they plan to cut and on the cancellation of Saturday Service.
The executive director expects layoffs to happen in January.
