19257_Authority_June_2026

municipalauthorities.org │ 11 F ormed in 1966 under a Charter held jointly by the City and County, Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) is celebrating 60 years of unbroken service this year, continuing the now one hundred year run of safe, reliable public transportation in Erie County. EMTA is considered both a rural and urban transportation system operating fixed route and paratransit services in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Services are available on weekdays and Saturdays. Fixed route service is branded as the “e” and shared ride paratransit as “LIFT”. PennDOT’s fiscal year 2023-2024 Public Transportation Performance Report indicates EMTA’s 66 fixed route buses provided 28 Fixed Routes of service for more than 1.5 million rides, and over 130,000 LIFT paratransit rides. The “e” operates in the Cities of Erie and Corry and the municipalities of Albion, Girard, Edinboro, Fairview, Harborcreek, Kearsarge, Lake City, Millcreek, North East, Union City, and Waterford. LIFT services are available throughout Erie County. “In all its incarnations, public transportation has been a vital part of Erie’s growth and development for a hundred years and that role continues today,” according to CEO Jeremy Peterson. “EMTA is much more than a bus company.” In fact, EMTA has become a driver of economic development. The $72 million Joint Operations Facility completed in 2019 has revitalized the midtown district of Erie , and this summer will see a new restaurant open below its adjacent parking ramp. A recent acquisition of the brownfield directly across the railroad tracks from the EMTA Headquarters will add a second parking ramp, transfer center and additional vender space, transforming what has been an eyesore into a vital addition to midtown. EMTA is a crucial provider of transportation for Erie’s elderly and disabled residents, with its LIFT Division. Designed to ensure mobility and independence, LIFT operates 31 short buses as a shared-ride, advance-reservation system, connecting riders to medical appointments, senior centers, shopping destinations, and other community resources. The service operates within the same coverage area and hours as EMTA’s fixed-route network and offers multiple funding programs to subsidize costs for qualifying individuals. With transportation as the leading contributor to increased greenhouse gas emissions, EMTA is an environmental leader. Over the past decade, EMTA has methodically replaced its dirtier burning diesel buses with clean burning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), thereby eliminating the particulate pollution that plagues urban centers. With 66% of the transition complete, the EMTA fixed-route fleet will be 100% CNG by 2030. EMTA is a key partner with the Erie School District, providing more than 1,300 passes to Junior and Senior High Schoolers each year. Transporting students can, at times, be a challenge. When a succession of disruptive behaviors among students waiting for and, at times, while riding the bus became an issue, EMTA worked with community leaders “Erie's first public transportation was founded in 1865 and carried passengers from the foot of State Street to Federal Hill at 26 th and Peach. It was Bill Loesch's Omnibus Line, with headquarters in South Erie House at the southern terminus of the route.” “Each omnibus was drawn by two fine horses, according to the illustration in the business directory. The driver sat on top and frequently blew loudly on his long tin horn. It was a pіcturesque part of old Erie. The periodic tooting of the horn, accompanied by the noise of the wheels on the cobble-stoned streets gave the omnibus the name "Bill Loesch's Band…" “…On December 7, 1925, the first motor bus left Perry Square, proceeded out 5 th Street to Liberty and south to 30 th and west to Elmwood.” Erie Historical Society Continued on page 58.