Getting around Erie — or in and out of Erie — isn't as easy as it once was.
There's no taxi service in the city.
Low-fare Megabus service to and from Erie ended a decade ago after just one year.
And Erie air travelers have just two destinations, to Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, though Florida service may be on the horizon.
2021 report:Here's a look at Delta's future at the Erie International Airport, and the airport's past
Traveling by plane: Flights now and others that may land soon
Erie International Airport now has two flights daily between Erie and Chicago and two more daily flights between Erie and Charlotte.
Fares last week started at $290 to Charlotte aboard American Airlines and $344 to Chicago aboard United.
Most seats on the flights are occupied. Flights from Erie to Charlotte typically operate at about 98% capacity, flights to Chicago at about 84%, said airport Executive Director Derek Martin.
Those numbers in years past would have triggered additional daily flights.
Not anymore.
Here's why:United Airlines drops 14 Washington Dulles routes including Erie
"When the load factor is over 80%, airlines in the past typically added a flight. They're not doing that anymore because they don't have the pilots to fly them," Martin said.
A nationwide pilot shortage is grounding a number of flights. American Airlines recently announced that it would end service to four cities — Toledo, Ohio, Dubuque, Iowa, and Islip and Ithaca, New York — because there aren't enough pilots to serve them. A number of pilots retired during the COVID-19 pandemic, which also slowed pilot training.
"We have 100 regional aircraft on the ground that we want to fly but can't due to lack of regional pilots," American Airlines spokesperson Brian Metham said in a statement announcing the four-city cuts in June.
The pilot shortage earlier this year grounded Erie-Washington, D.C., air service. The route was among 14 Washington Dulles International Airport routes suspended by United in March.
From USA Today:American Airlines will end service to 4 cities in September citing pilot shortage
Erie previously lost Detroit service by Delta Air Lines in July 2020 and additional Chicago flights, by American Airlines, in 2021. They're the latest in a series of departures from airport flight boards since 2005, when air service was available to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Charlotte aboard Delta, US Airways, Continental and Northwest airlines. Of those airlines, only Delta is still flying.
Still, Erie's airport hopes to offer new Florida service as early as next year, Martin said. The airport applied for a $332,800 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program that would pay $800 per flight to an airline providing service, most likely to Orlando, Tampa or Clearwater Beach.
A similar Small Community grant awarded in 2020 subsidized the Erie-Washington flights flown by United's regional United Express system.
Erie-Florida air service?A federal grant could make that happen as early as next year
Inter-city trains and buses
Amtrak and Greyhound offer additional options for travelers.
Amtrak has service to and from Erie aboard the Lake Shore Limited, a train between Chicago and New York.
Destinations and fares offered last week include Cleveland, $21; Buffalo, $18; Chicago, $104; and New York, $81.
A downside for passengers is that trains come and go from Erie's Union Station in the wee hours and early morning. Westbound trains leave Erie at 2:10 a.m. Eastbound trains depart at 7:24 a.m.
"The timing is pretty inconvenient," said Springfield Township native Ben Snow, 28, who now lives and works in Chicago. "Coming home, I get on the train in Chicago at 9 at night and get into Erie, if I'm lucky, sometime after 7 a.m. Going back to Chicago, you have to be at the Erie station in the middle of the night."
And trains are often delayed.
"One thing that's really frustrating is that Amtrak has a service agreement for the right-of-way, but a few times I've been on trains sidelined for a good half-hour or more by freight trains on the track," Snow said.
Greyhound continues to offer bus service to and from Erie, though it closed its passenger station and waiting room in the Intermodal Transportation Center on May 1. Erie now has just a Greyhound bus stop behind the Intermodal Center.
"It's really bad," Jim Joseph Thomas, 29, a Gannon University MBA student, said May 5 while waiting for a Greyhound bus to Cleveland. Thomas arrived at the Intermodal Center at 8:30 a.m. for a bus due about an hour later. Because of mechanical troubles, the bus didn't arrive from Buffalo until 10:08.
"I've been sitting out here when it's cold outside. There are benches, but they are hard metal and you can't sit on them for more than five minutes," Thomas said.
The upsides for travelers include destinations and fares. Greyhound passengers can connect to just about any city in the continental U.S. Destinations and ticket prices offered last week from Erie included Cleveland, $18; Pittsburgh, $50; Buffalo, $20; New York, $71; Washington, D.C., $56; Philadelphia, $84; and Columbus, $37.
Trips are booked online. Fares can be paid online or by cash at local outlets including some Family Dollar, Walmart and CVS stores.
Getting around locally: EMTA
Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority buses run dozens of routes in Erie and Erie County daily, including free weekday rides downtown aboard the Bayliner Trolley and free Friday and Saturday rides between downtown and Presque Isle State Park.
Passengers 65 and over ride all routes free with a special pass.
EMTA also offers free rides on selected routes for some downtown workers as well as college students with a PennWest, Gannon, Behrend, Mercyhurst or Erie County Community College ID.
The fare for other routes is $1.65, plus 45 cents for a transfer. Regular riders can purchase tickets or passes for discounted fares.
EMTA Lift service is available by appointment for seniors and those who cannot ride regular fixed routes. There's no cost for trips to doctor's appointments and senior centers. Fares otherwise range from $3.30 to $6.75.
Booked rides
Erie has not had taxi service since June 2019 when Erie Transportation Services, formerly Erie Yellow Cab, folded. Booked rides are now offered by Uber, Lyft and other services. Cost varies by distance, driver availability and other factors.
Hansen's Errand Service offers rides by advance appointment — to and from the airport, Presque Isle Downs and Casino, medical offices, weddings, concerts and other events and destinations in Erie and as far afield as Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
"Transporting people is a huge part of our business and actually is our primary focus, especially since cab service ended," Hansen's owner Peggy Allin said.
Companies as well as individuals book rides.
"We do a lot of work for the hospitals that have patients brought in by ambulance plus others who have no way home. We also work with corporations needing to get people to work at odd hours," Allin said. "With the labor shortage especially, companies are thinking out of the box to get workers."
One company pays Hansen's to bring refugees living in Erie to work in North East and to take them home after their shifts.
"It's not just medical appointments or fun places people want to go. We also get people to jobs," Allin said.
Uber and Lyft offer rides at a few minutes' notice so long as drivers are available. And there may not be as many drivers on the road in Erie as in the past, especially at peak times.
"Some days I go nonstop because there aren't as many drivers out now," said Karen Baur, 54, who has been a part-time Uber driver for five years. "Because of high gas prices, some people have quit driving."
Baur generally provides Uber rides in and around Erie. Demand for paid rides isn't high in Conneautville, where she lives, and is only sporadic in Meadville, Baur said.
"My full-time job is third-shift, so I typically go up to Erie in the morning and pick people up and take them to work," Baur said. "On weekends, I typically take people out to eat and to bars."
Baur began driving for Uber to earn extra money.
"My full-time job was paying the bills, but as a single mom, I wanted extra money that we could spend on other things," Baur said. She plans to retire from her full-time job soon and to offer Uber rides full-time.
"I love driving. I love meeting new people and talking to people. And with Uber, I set my own hours," Baur said.
Uber and Lyft passengers book and pay for rides online or can pay cash to the driver.
Some drivers take on inter-city runs on short notice. Snow, the Amtrak rider living in Chicago, recently was stranded in Cleveland when his travel plans for his sister's wedding in Conneaut, Ohio, unexpectedly changed. He booked an Uber ride.
"It was an experience," Snow said. "The first driver came toward me, must have looked at the app and gone, 'Oh, hell no,' and quit on me. The second guy asked where Conneaut is, and I told him it's at the state line with Pennsylvania but I'd make it worth his while. And he was game."
Snow paid about $100 for the last-minute, long-distance ride.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter@ETNmyers.
