Taking the city bus from Erie's Amtrak station

Taking the city bus from the Amtrak Station (at Union Station) 

It is a very short walk from the station to the nearest bus stop.

1. Amtrak station entrance is at 125 West 14th. The closest bus stop is at 14th and State, a short block and a half away. So as you come out, turn right on West 14th. Also any local should be able to just point it out to you.

2. Once you are on 14th and State, you will see two stops on State.

• The stop on the west side is a green shelter, and those buses will be heading south. The shelter also has schedules and maps for the different routes.
• Across the street, on the east side of the street, the curbside stop in front of Calamari's (1317 State) is for buses heading northward (toward the lake).

You can also look them up at Erie EMTA or call 814-452-3515 or stop by customer service at 127 E. 14th Street (a couple blocks east)

IMPORTANT: Erie EMTA city buses run six days a week, but not on Sundays. While eastbound trains arriving around 7:30am will be able to catch city buses, the buses will not be running when the westbound train arrives after 2am. 

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EMTA survey

 EMTA is inviting people to fill out their survey and offer feedback on service.

You can fill out the survey online, on paper, or other formats.

👉To do the survey ONLINE:

For Fixed Route* Service/Riders: https://forms.office.com/r/dNpusYUXRg
For LIFT Service/Riders: https://forms.office.com/r/XSG0V1k2NL

👉To fill out using PAPER or ALTERNATIVE formats call or email EMTA at emtamedia@ride-the-e.com or 814-459-8922 ext. 211.

The survey deadline is February 14. 2026.

*Fixed Route buses (the "regular buses") use a specific, routes and operate on a set schedule. 

More information:

The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority is inviting transit riders and community members to participate in a public survey as part of the ongoing Transit Development Plan (TDP). The survey is designed to gather feedback on current transit services and identify priorities for improvements over next 5 years.The Transit Development Plan is a comprehensive planning effort that evaluates existing transit services and outlines strategies to better meet the mobility needs of Erie City and County residents. Public input is a critical component of the process and will help guide decisions related to service reliability, routes, schedules, accessibility, and future investments.
“Community feedback is essential to ensuring our transit system reflects the needs of the people who use it every day,” said Jeremy Peterson, Executive Director of EMTA. “We encourage riders and residents to take a few minutes to complete the survey and share their experiences and ideas.”
The survey is open to current EMTA riders, occasional users, and individuals who may not currently use transit but could in the future. Responses will be reviewed alongside technical analysis and stakeholder input as the Transit Development Plan progresses. 

Additional opportunities for public involvement, including meetings, will be announced later in the planning process.

Winter walking aids

I don't normally use a cane but I have started using one to help me in snowy conditions  These photos were taken in downtown Erie during the Thanksgiving storm of 2024. I am just telling you how it worked for me, everyone is different, and you need to judge for yourself if this makes sense.  

I found I could use the cane to reach across large mounds of snow to push the crossing signal. This mound in front of the Post Office was way to big to reach across, and would have required that I crawl across a little, but with the cane I was able to easily reach it. 

Bus shelter was cleared but getting there was a little shaky so this provided added stability. 

Helps with this situation too. 

Regarding ice, I usually use ice traction devices on my boots if the ice is terribly slippery but sometimes the cane can be enough if it is not too bad. Again, that's just me. Just be careful out there. 

Recent events cause some to take a fresh look at intercity bus service

This Holiday Travel Season, It’s Time to End the Stigma Around Intercity Buses (Streetsblog USA) "The future of travel is not about choosing one mode over another. It is about building a balanced, interconnected system where buses, trains, planes, and cars complement each other."

Are flights losing ground to bus rides? Greyhound's owner says bookings are up 17% this Thanksgiving. (MarketWatch)  The American Bus Association, a trade group, cites industry data showing bus passenger counts this Thanksgiving will be up by 12% over last year - and could be up by as much as 30% for certain routes.

Publicly owned intercity bus station offers dignity for travelers on tight budgets (Chicago Sun)
"We need affordable and accessible bus service now more than ever to maintain our social fabric."

9 Things Greyhound Bus Travel Taught a Generation About America (Modern Teen) "Greyhound rides turned highways into lessons: connection, region, struggle, and kindness, revealing America stop by stop at night."

Four new OHIO intercity routes serve Ashtabula, Painesville, Cleveland, and more (NEOtrans blog)

Pennsylvania Funding issues

from LehighValleyNews.com | By Tom Shortell

"It remains to be seen whether smaller authorities such as LANTA, Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority and Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority will receive packages similar to what SEPTA and PRT have secured. https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/transportation-news/with-no-transit-deal-looming-lanta-eyes-capital-funds-to-avoid-cuts  

Pittsburgh Regional Transit turns to Pa. fund to avoid service cuts during budget impasse
From Pennsylvania Capital Star/WESA
"The move makes it possible for the transit system to avoid a 35 percent service cut and a fare hike of 9%."   https://penncapital-star.com/government-politics/pittsburgh-regional-transit-turns-to-pa-fund-to-avoid-service-cuts-during-budget-impasse/ 

Cuts, fare hikes, canceled expansions: How failed Pa. transit funding talks could affect small systems by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PA  https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/09/transit-systems-small-financial-struggle-pennsylvania-budget-capitol/ 

Active Transportation Week will take place May 12-18 in Chautauqua Co.

from WRFA Radio

'The Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development, in collaboration with the Chautauqua County Health Department and CHQ Transit are encouraging local residents to use the county’s public transportation system – CHQ Transit – or an alternative mode of transportation other than their personal motor vehicle that week.

'A “Bingo Card” has been created to inspire creative ways to get moving throughout the week.  Each day will also highlight a different “theme” with Friday, May 16, focusing on riding a bike to work or school. Bingo Cards, themes and event details will be added on the Chautauqua County Events page.,


Read more:
https://www.wrfalp.com/active-transportation-week-set-for-may-12-18/

Greyhound policy on warrantless bus searches

Greyhound Policy on warrantless bus searches

From Greyhound Lines
"Greyhound Lines, Inc. does not consent to, or provide permission for, warrantless and/or suspicionless immigration enforcement activities on its buses or in its non-public property at bus stations....
"Immigration searches by CBP agents have occurred on Greyhound buses in the past and may interfere with travel schedules and passenger experiences at Greyhound's bus terminals or on buses in the State of Washington."
Read complete policy here:
https://www.greyhound.com/warrantless-bus-searches


How the ACLU organized to stop racial profiling on Greyhound buses
from American Civil Liberties Unio (ACLU)
"You can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound — that's called racial profiling, and it is unconstitutional."
Read complete article here:
https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/how-the-aclu-organized-to-end-racial-profiling-on-greyhound-buses

STORM

 Public comments: Thoughts and  suggestions on handling mega storms in future from Erie City Council meeting 12-18-2024:  Freda 11:05, Devin  1:20:24, Matt 1:23:37, Marty 1;36:01, Paige 1:40:22, Katie (1:47:24). Also, former Erie city councilman Michael Keys made recommendations immediately after Buffalo's 2022 storm.

EMTA feedback survey

 EMTA SEEKS FEEDBACK FROM COMMUNITY WITH SURVEY

Erie, PA- The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority is seeking feedback from the community to continue improving its services with a digital survey.

The results of the current survey will allow EMTA to measure the impact their efforts for improvement have had on the community. This feedback will help guide the EMTA team in the direction they need to take moving forward.

The EMTA administered surveys in 2023 and 2024 to establish a baseline in several areas, such as the public’s satisfaction with the quality of the buses, safety, usability, marketing, and general rider information.

“Public transit has an impact on everyone in the community, weather you see it or not,” says Sarah Morrison, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the EMTA. “We want to determine the influence EMTA has on the community at large, so it is important for as much participation in the survey as possible. We encourage everyone take the survey, even if you are not an EMTA rider.”

EMTA asks all community members to complete the short, anonymous survey by February 14^th. A link to the survey can be found on the website or Facebook page. Visit ride-the-e.com for more information.

SURVEY HERE

Port Authorty seeks qualified bidders for the operation of a water taxi service

 News story from YourErie (JET/FOX66) "

Julie Slomski, the Port Authority’s executive director, said the authority hopes to generate enough proposals to “move forward with the taxi this summer.”

"The authority will accept proposals through Feb. 6. "

~~~~~

ANNOUNCEMENT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 

The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, 1 Holland Street, Erie, PA 16507 will receive sealed proposals for qualified bidders for the operation of a water taxi service on Presque Isle Bay. Proposals will be received until Thursday, February 6 at 4:00 PM. at the office of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, 1 Holland Street, Erie, PA 16507, at which time and place all bids will be opened publicly. Information for the preparation of proposals may be obtained at the Port Authority Office between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.porterie.org. Proposal specifications may be reviewed at the Port Authority Office during regular business hours as stated above.

The submission of proposals will obligate the prospective operator not to discriminate in employment practices in accordance with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations. The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal in whole or in part and to waive irregularities and to accept or reject any and all bids. 

Julie Slomski 

Executive Director 

(1-10929271-NT-9-16)

PennDOT implements nation’s first statewide real-time public service tracker system

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that the Fixed Route Intelligent Transportation System (FRITS) has been fully implemented at 33 transit agencies across the state. FRITS provides real-time service information for passengers, and enhanced transit planning for agencies. Passengers are now able to see their bus and how far away it is from their location at nearly three dozen transit agencies spanning 41 counties across the Commonwealth. 

[...]

Riders can access real time service information including the location of the bus and predicted stop arrival times via the “myStop” smartphone app. Customers can also easily navigate between transit agencies using myStop, which is especially useful for riders in rural areas. For example, a passenger in Lemont Furnace who needs to travel to Greensburg can use myStop and view information for both Fayette Area Coordinated Transit and Westmoreland County Transit to identify which routes to use, where the bus is currently located, and easily plan their route. Additionally, because all agencies have had their routes certified by Google Maps as part of the project, customers can use Google Maps to plan transit routes as well and rest assured that route information is accurate.

Read more 

PennDOT Customer Care Center contact info

***Begin message taken from PennDOT Customer Care Center page***

 PennDOT Customer Care Center

Concerns about state-owned roadways can be made through the Customer Care Center by calling 1-800-FIX-ROAD or online at https://customercare.penndot.pa.gov/ 

Submissions are not monitored outside of normal business hours, which are Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For life-threatening emergencies, call 9-1-1. For urgent issues, call the associated  PennDOT County Office.

Shapiro saves Philly region's public transit with influx of cash.

Important Milestone: Governor Shapiro flexes $153 Million, Saving SEPTA from a Financial Doom Spiral

the Transit for All PA! Coalition issued the following statement (November 22, 2024)


Today the Transit for All PA! statewide coalition celebrates an important step for transit, with Governor Shapiro’s announcement of an immediate allocation of $153 million from federal highway funds towards transit. The additional $153 million dollars in operations funding is long overdue and will stave off the most imminent funding cliff for SEPTA, Pennsylvania’s largest transit system, which was projected to receive 20% service cuts and 30% fare increases in early 2025 if no action was taken. We are appreciative of Governor Shapiro’s leadership and decisive action to ensure that millions of transit riders, businesses in the Philadelphia region, manufacturers of transit parts across the Commonwealth, and PA residents continue to experience the critical economic and social benefit of a stable, robust transportation network in our state’s largest urban area.

It is important to remember that this is a stopgap measure, to manage the state legislature’s irresponsible delay in developing a sustainable, dedicated transit funding solution. Pennsylvania’s residents will still need the legislature and the governor to pass a long term funding solution in the Spring of 2025.

The Governor’s decision to “flex” highway funding to transit isn’t something that should only happen in an emergency. Other states take advantage of this mechanism in order to keep transit on track- and even expand it- and not merely keep buses, trains, and shared-ride service from the brink of collapse every two decades. It’s also smart policy to allocate a more equitable share of transportation funding to transit. By contrast, the disproportionate amount of funding that our federal government and PennDOT allocates to highway expansion compared to funding transit worsens our infrastructure maintenance debts, deepens our climate crisis, and makes our roads more congested, not less.
Fortunately, the Transit for All PA! coalition is strong and growing, and we will continue to organize for transit funding across the Commonwealth that will keep seniors connected to healthcare, families connected to grocery stores, and neighbors connected to each other.

Our coalition of transit riders and transit workers of Transit for All PA! was key to the Governor’s decision to flex highway funds. Since June’s State Budget negotiations, the coalition has sent more than 6500 emails to legislators and the Governor, 3000 of those were since Monday, November 12th. Our volunteers made 2500 calls to riders all across the SEPTA region not only activating them but educating riders who depend on SEPTA the most. On November 21st, Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the Governor to flex highway funds to prevent a doom spiral and we turned out 25 people for public comment. We showed up to Harrisburg multiple times with hundreds of supporters calling for action. And we delivered our message to every single lawmaker to ensure our voice was heard. The tireless efforts of rider unions and transit advocates, transit workers, environmental organizations, business interests, disability groups, and more ensured that the importance of transit to our state could not be ignored.

We recognize the importance of this milestone, while also being acutely aware that the fight continues to truly fulfill public transit service in Pennsylvania that meets the needs of 21st century communities, one that reduces congestion and protects our environment, one that advances equity in transportation, and one that is frequent, reliable, affordable, clean, and accessible.
Send a Thank-you to Governor Shapiro. Lend your support in reaching a full transit funding solution.

Transit for All PA! is a statewide coalition of transit riders, transit workers, and transit-supportive organizations and businesses. Together, we are working to expand Pennsylvania’s public transit systems to grow our economy and connect more Pennsylvanians to jobs, healthcare, and essential needs. transitforallpa.org