Sun and a few passing clouds. High 79F. Winds light and variable..

Clear skies. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.

Cindy Myers, of Selinsgrove, boards rabbittransit’s “Stop Hopper” service on Friday.

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

The new Shoppers’ Shuttle drives down Mill Street in Danville on Friday afternoon.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Ryan Straub, a driver of rabbittransit’s Stop Hopper service, drives the bus on Friday morning.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Cindy Myers was a passenger of rabbittransit’s Stop Hopper service on Friday.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Cindy Myers, of Selinsgrove, demonstrates how to use the app for rabbittransit’s Stop Hopper service on Friday.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item Ryan Straub, a driver of rabbittransit’s “Stop Hopper” service, drives the bus on Friday morning.

Cindy Myers, of Selinsgrove, boards rabbittransit’s “Stop Hopper” service on Friday.

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

The new Shoppers’ Shuttle drives down Mill Street in Danville on Friday afternoon.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Ryan Straub, a driver of rabbittransit’s Stop Hopper service, drives the bus on Friday morning.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Cindy Myers was a passenger of rabbittransit’s Stop Hopper service on Friday.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Cindy Myers, of Selinsgrove, demonstrates how to use the app for rabbittransit’s Stop Hopper service on Friday.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item Ryan Straub, a driver of rabbittransit’s “Stop Hopper” service, drives the bus on Friday morning.

Many rural communities across America suffer from a lack of public transportation. The Valley is no exception to this rule.

A lack of transportation — from bus and cab services, to even ride-share services like Uber — can impact everything from access to health care, to consistent rides to work, shop or play. It can even impact child care and everything downstream of that issue.

Plagued with a lack of viable transportation options in the past, the Valley looks to redefine transportation in a small town. More help is on the way.

Beginning in June, the Lower Anthracite Transit System (LATS) — a fixed route service operating in the Coal Region — will begin offering daily routes to Knoebels Amusement Resort.

Rabbittransit is in the early stages of a three-year pilot program in the area. Expanding on its fixed-route service previously available in the region, late last year, rabbittransit rolled out its Stop Hopper service. That allows a rider to pay $2 for a ride to and from a desired destination as long as they fit within a given zone. The first regional zone included Selinsgrove, Hummels Wharf, Shamokin Dam, Sunbury and parts of Northumberland.

In March, the Stop Hopper microtransit service expanded locally to include Lewisburg, West Milton, Milton, Danville and Bloomsburg.

“I am very pleased with how the service is shaping up,” said Rich Farr, executive director at rabbittransit. He said ridership across the three main zones is growing steadily. The Sunbury-Selinsgrove zone is seeing around 40 riders a day, which averages three passengers an hour.

The Bloomsburg-Danville zone is averaging 20 riders a day, a number that is consistent over at the Lewisburg-Milton zone.

Starting out, the Stop Hopper was in the low teens for shared trips and is now currently at 33% shared trips, a number that continues growing as more and more people are sharing rides and utilizing the service.

The Stop Hopper service is meeting and exceeding goals as they set out to connect people with more opportunities and accessibility in a small town, Farr said.

“The idea is to really help remove transportation as a barrier to allow people to have access to their basic needs and hopefully employment opportunities,” he said when announcing the expansion earlier this year.

Stop Hopper enables residents to schedule rides on smaller, neighborhood-friendly-sized public transit vehicles, either by scheduling over the phone or via an app. Following a ride request, the app provides passengers with an estimated pick-up time.

Passengers are picked up in nine-person accessible vans and taken where they want to go within the designated zone area. The app also tracks rides in real-time and alerts passengers when their ride is about to reach their desired destination. The Stop Hopper app is available for download from the App Store or Google Play. Riders can call for a ride request by contacting 1-800-632-9063.

Meeting needsRabbittransit riders may request a ride from any location they wish to be served and can now gift a trip to another rider.

“Token Transit,” a new app addition to the Stop Hopper service allows riders to “gift” a trip to someone by covering the $2 fee. This app encourages using and supporting public transportation in rural areas.

“The more qualitative goals were to connect people with work and employment opportunities … we want to see that this service is meeting those needs,” Farr said.

Overall satisfaction with the Stop Hopper seems high as it is rated 4.8/5 stars on the app which is a representational average of rider opinion.

LATS expansionMount Carmel-based LATS has regular stops throughout the Coal Region, with runs from Mount Carmel to Kulpmont and Marion Heights and to the Shamokin area. It also hits grocery stores and the Walmart Supercenter along Route 61 between Shamokin and Mount Carmel.

Beginning June 6, daily trips to Knoebels will be added. It will cost riders $2 one way. Requests must come at least two hours in advance and Saturday ride requests must be in by 3 p.m. Friday.

With LATS, children under the age of four can ride for free and residents over the age of 65 ride for free all day. All buses are handicapped-accessible.

Shopping shuttleEarlier this month, another pilot program, a one-year collaboration between the Danville Business Alliance (DBA), Geisinger and Fishing CreekTransporation rolled out. It allows Geisinger outpatients and visitors who want to check out downtown Danville businesses to hitch a ride for free.

The shuttle travels throughout Danville with stops at local shops, grocery stores and health care facilities. It will run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week through 2022 to gauge interest in the program and its benefit to residents, visitors and businesses.

Riders will be picked up and dropped off at various locations, including downtown Mill Street, grocery stores and Geisinger facilities.

Residents also can call 570-293-1966 to arrange a potential pick-up location that isn’t near the shuttle’s normal route.

“The Shoppers’ Shuttle makes it convenient for visitors and residents to connect to our downtown and to shop a variety of places. We are thrilled to collaborate with these community partners and know it will be a huge benefit to our area businesses,” said Rebecca Dressler, executive director at the Danville Business Alliance, when the program was announced.

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