Independent transportation plan

Bethlehem Connect

Planning phase. An independent plan; nothing is funded or built yet. What this means

A proposed hybrid, high-frequency electric transit network linking Saucon Valley, Lehigh University's three campuses, the Southside, Downtown Bethlehem, Moravian University and North Bethlehem — built on the bus service that exists today.

Explore the interactive map One-page summary Two-page summary (PDF)

Illustrative aerial view of Bethlehem with the proposed network drawn over real terrain and buildings — An illustration, not a design: nothing shown is built. Computer-generated from USGS terrain and Overture building footprints; routes and gondola are illustrative overlays of proposals. No station site is marked.

Each place, on one page

A one-page summary, then a one-page visual for the whole line and for every station area: picture, locator map, measured facts, ideas and open questions. Each one downloads as a PDF or an image.

The plan in four numbers

Measured on open data with a stated model — screening-level figures, not forecasts or budgets.

proposed station areas, plus 3 evaluated extensions (St. Luke's, Wind Creek, North expansion)

16.5 km

Proposed Connect Spine, I-78 Park & Ride → Linden & Elizabeth; ~35 min in-vehicle (model)

~12 min

gondola possibility Goodman ↔ Asa Packer via Mountaintop / Iacocca Hall (3.4 km), vs ~14 min by bus

$11.2M / yr

screening operating cost for the Phase 1 core lines (Spine and River Line) at LANTA's 2024 bus cost per hour (≈71,000 revenue hours; more in later years; options and extensions not costed) — the binding constraint

What exists, what is proposed, what is long-term

Existing today

LANTA's Enhanced Bus Service already runs a combined bus about every 15 minutes between Downtown, the Fahy Bridge and the Southside, with its downtown stop at Walnut & New since November 2025. Lehigh runs campus shuttles. Trails and railroad tracks exist; there is no passenger rail service in Bethlehem today.

Phase 1 · conditional target 2029

Connect Spine: electric bus rapid transit from the I-78 Park & Ride through Hellertown, Lehigh's Goodman, Mountaintop and Asa Packer campuses, Farrington Square, Downtown and Moravian to Linden & Elizabeth. River Line: an upgrade of the existing EBS core to Third Street / SteelStacks.

Phase 1 optionsPhase 2 · conditional target 2030Long-term idea

Phase 1 options: a gondola for the South Mountain climb, a Valley Express bus on a rail-ready corridor, an Airport Link bus to ABE airport, and extensions if demand supports them. Phase 2 (conditional target 2030): five corridor options past Bethlehem, coordinated with LANTA, which decides. Long-term: valley rail, only behind ridership, funding and engineering gates. Express tiers and expansion across Pennsylvania are a speculative vision.

Schematic of the plan: Connect Spine stations 1–6 and 8–10, the River Line from Downtown via Farrington to Third Street (7), the gondola possibility, the Valley Express option, the St. Luke's branch and extensions — Network schematic (not to scale). Shaded areas mark station areas, not sites. Phase 1 (proposed, conditional target 2029): Connect Spine and River Line, with options (gondola, Valley Express, St. Luke's branch) and extensions only if demand supports them. The Airport Link option (added 19 Oct 2026) and the Phase 2 corridors past Bethlehem are not drawn here; see the interactive map and its regional map.Distances measured on the Overture Maps street network; times from a stated kinematic model.

Explore the plan

Status, October 2026

An independent plan in the planning phase, shared for discussion. No agency or institution has adopted, funded or engineered it. Any dates on this site — including Phase 1's 2029 and Phase 2's 2030 on the “Bethlehem 2030” path — are conditional targets that depend on a sponsor adopting the route, funding and operating partners, not commitments.

Guiding idea

Make essential things simpler, more accessible, less wasteful, and affordable or free wherever practical.