Frequently Asked Questions

ACTS is an advanced reservation bus service. To schedule a trip with ACTS, the reservation must be called into the Customer Service Department the working day prior to the date of the trip. Although ACTS is open to the general public, meaning that any person, regardless of income, age, or disability status may ride ACTS and pay the full fare themselves, there are many sponsoring agencies that will pay part or all of your fare for you if you qualify. Please contact our Customer Service Department to inquire about our sponsoring agencies, to sign up for services, and to schedule your trip.

How do I contact ACTS?

Customer Service Department: 724-652-5588
ACTS Toll Free Phone Number: 1-888-252-5104
ACTS Fax Number: 724-546-5160
Office Address: 701 N. Mercer Street, New Castle, PA 16101
Customer Service Hours: Mondays through Fridays from 8:30am – 4:30pm

Where can I travel with ACTS?

ACTS serves all of Lawrence County, however, some outer-lying areas of the County may have limited travel times available. During weekdays, ACTS transports Lawrence County Residents to some destinations located within Butler, Beaver, Mercer, and Allegheny Counties. ACTS provides limited service on Saturdays within the City of New Castle and the immediately surrounding areas. Please contact our Customer Service Department for more details on when we serve your area!

What hours do the ACTS buses operate?

Mondays through Fridays: 5:00am* – 7:00pm
Saturdays: 6:00am* – 4:00pm
*For life sustaining appointments, such as dialysis, passengers may be picked up early to ensure that they arrive at their appointments by 5:00am during the week and 6:00am on Saturdays.

What are Sponsoring Agencies and do I qualify?

Although anyone can contact ACTS to request a ride if they’re willing to pay the full fare of the trip, there are many sponsoring agencies that may cover all or part of the full fare for passengers. A Sponsoring Agency is an entity that offers subsidized transportation to individuals that qualify for their program. ACTS full fares are based on the direct mileage between the passenger’s pickup and drop-off locations. Below is a chart of the full fares for passenger trips that are charged if the passenger does not qualify for a sponsoring agency:

Trip Mileage / Full Fare
0 – 1.9 Miles / $13.25
2 – 4.9 Miles / $15.25
5 – 9.9 Miles / $17.50
10 – 14.9 Miles / $22.00
15 – 19.9 Miles / $28.00
20 – 24.9 Miles / $34.00
25 – 29.9 Miles / $40.00
30+ Miles / $50.00

Although ACTS full fares are very reasonable, less than the cost of a taxi, most passengers find that they qualify for a reduced fare. Below are some of the sponsoring agencies that may further reduce the cost of your trip.

How do I schedule a ride?

The key to using ACTS successfully is knowing how to schedule your trip and what areas are serviced on any given day. Please give as much advance notice as possible when scheduling trips.

• Trips are scheduled on a first come, first served basis.
• Since ACTS is a coordinated system, trips to and from outer-lying parts of the county will be grouped together.
• The cut-off time for scheduling a trip is by 2:00pm one business day before the trip is to be taken. Monday trips must be scheduled by Friday at 2:00pm.
• If you require an escort during your trips, you may be asked to provide a Physician’s Excuse detailing your need for the escort. Once approved to ride with an escort, please tell the Customer Service Representative when you schedule your trip if you plan to bring someone along for the trip.
• Lift Equipped Vehicles are available for individuals with disabilities. Please notify the Customer Service Representative if a lift equipped vehicle is needed for your trip.

How do I cancel a scheduled ride?

If you need to cancel a scheduled trip, please contact our office at least 2 hours before your scheduled pickup time. Passengers who repeatedly fail to follow our cancellation procedure may result in a temporary suspension of services.

How do I make an additional trip request and change my scheduled trip?

All trips must be scheduled at least one business day before the date of the desired trip. No additional trip requests or trip changes will be honored by the driver. The driver is only permitted to pick up and deliver clients according to the advanced reservation each passenger has made through the ACTS Office.

Can I bring someone to escort me on my trip?

Escorts are permitted for passengers under the age of 18, for passengers who are permanently or temporarily unable to travel alone due to a disability, and for passengers who need an interpreter. Before passengers are able to bring escorts along at no cost, a Physician’s Excuse is required by ACTS.

Passenger Conduct

ACTS reserves the right to suspend passengers indefinitely who do not abide by the Passenger Conduct Rules.

• ACTS strongly recommends that all adult passengers wear seatbelts, however, minor children are required to be secured during transport. Children over the age of 4 years old must wear a seat belt. For children aged 2 to 4 years old, ACTS has integrated child restraint seats available in our buses that are appropriate for most children in this age group. For children under the age of 2 years old, parents must provide child restraint seats for children and are responsible for securing them properly in the ACTS vehicles. Parents should ask Customer Service if they have questions about which type of child securement is most appropriate for their child based on their age, height, and weight.
• Passengers are permitted a maximum of 5 or 6 grocery-sized bags per ACTS Trip. These carry-on items should be able to be carried between the passenger and the driver in one trip between the bus and the destination. Please refrain from purchasing large items or excessive groceries.
• Although the Customer Service Representatives will tell you the approximate time the bus is scheduled to pick you up, it is important that you are ready at least 15 minutes early. The ACTS Bus may arrive up to 15 minutes before through 15 minutes after your scheduled pick-up time and still be considered “on time”.
• Profanity, violence, threat of violence, harassment, smoking, alcohol use, and illegal drugs are strictly prohibited.
• Use of any form of tobacco products, including but not limited to smoking, chewing, cigarettes, cigars, etc., e-cigarettes or vaping is strictly prohibited. Use of any of these products while traveling with ACTS may result is suspension of transportation services.

Do I need to have the exact amount to pay my ACTS fare?

Passengers are expected to carry exact change to pay their Driver for each trip. For passengers preferring to pre-pay their fares and avoid having to carry exact change, passengers can setup a pre-pay Balance Account with ACTS! Passengers, or their family members or caregivers, can apply any dollar amount to the Balance Account to be used to cover their fare for future trips. Please contact our Customer Service Department for details or to setup a Balance Account.

Discounted Fare Programs

Policies