On Monday, the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) will begin a partnership with the University of Scranton and Marywood University that will enable students, faculty and staff to ride two COLTS routes free of charge by showing their valid college IDs.

This service will take over the former Smart Ride service that the universities had in place. Each school will subsidize COLTS per number of riders at the end of the semester.

“The new partnership with Marywood University and the University of Scranton is an exciting step for COLTS,” said Bob Fiume, COLTS executive director. “We anticipate this being a win-win situation for everyone involved. Just by slightly revising two of our existing routes, we are able to provide better service and more opportunities to students, faculty and staff at both institutions, and we are hoping to increase our ridership as a result.”

“Marywood students, and, in fact, the entire Marywood community, are eagerly awaiting the new COLTS system,” said Joseph X. Garvey, vice president for business affairs. “Not only will this provide our students, faculty and staff with many more options than the old Smart Ride system, but it is another big step in Marywood’s sustainability efforts.”

“The use of COLTS to provide transportation free of charge to our students, faculty and staff is more cost-effective for the University, expands the service offered, and also provides additional support to the county and local businesses,” said Edward Steinmetz, vice president for finance/treasurer at the University of Scranton.

To read WNEP's coverage of the new service, click here.