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CATA is in the beginning stages of the Service Planning process for the 2008/09 Fiscal Year, which will begin July 1st.
We will be kicking things off with the upcoming public hearing that will be held on February 25th at the State College Borough building. The staff involved with service planning are very interested in any opinions, comments and/or suggestions that you may have and welcome you to share your thoughts and ideas.
Areas that we plan to consider over the next fiscal year will include the following:
• Increased frequency on the N, R & V Routes
• Expanded weekend operating hours on the N, R & V Routes
• Expanded the Saturday operating hours on the K, H, M, P & W Routes
• Realigned M Route routing in the area of the Mall, Wal-Mart and Premiere Theater.
• Increased Saturday frequency from 120 to 60 minutes on the H & W Routes
• Increased AM peak service on the H & W Routes (currently every 60/70 minutes)
• All day service to University Park Airport
• Increased P Route frequency (currently every 70/80 minutes)
• Expanded service to Grays Woods and the new Geisinger Facility scheduled to open next year
• Increased frequency along University Drive
• Operation of Sunday Service on selected Holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, etc…)
The list of changes needed to address all of our unmet needs is much larger than we can accommodate in the next year. Our primary purpose is to develop a prioritized list that we can use to stage the changes in a manner that is most consistent with what we know are our current limitations. Staff anticipates developing a “short list” of changes that will serve as a starting point for this year’s service planning and will be presented at the annual public hearing.
With that said, I encourage each of you to make
your opinions known with what service changes you feel would help improve our
current system. Comments may be presented at the public hearing or may be submitted
to Eric Bernier, CATA’s Service Development Manager, at ebernier@catabus.com
or via postal mail to CATA’s main office (2081 W. Whitehall Road, State
College, PA 16801).
Hugh A. Mose, CATA General
Manager
CATA Annual Public Hearing Monday, February 25, 2008
CATA’s Board of Directors will hold a public hearing in conjunction with its February Board Meeting scheduled for Monday, February 25, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. in the State College Borough Council Chambers of the State College Municipal Building, 243 South Allen Street, State College.
This Public Hearing is an annual event aimed at gathering community ideas and input regarding local public transportation services. It is also designed to allow for comments and suggestions to be heard regarding proposed service changes that may take effect over the coming year.
If you cannot attend, but wish to have your suggestions or viewpoints presented at the Public Hearing, please forward any comments by Wednesday, February 20 to:
L. Eric Bernier, Service Development
Manager
Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA)
2081 West Whitehall Road
State College, PA 16801
Suggestions and comments may also be forwarded
to Mr. Bernier via e-mail at ebernier@catabus.com
Register to Win! CATA February Online Survey
Special thanks to those who participated in CATA’s January online survey. Julie Ishler of Karthaus was chosen randomly as the winner of a $40.00 Mario & Luigi’s gift certificate!
This month, we’re asking you to tell us what transit,
and more specifically CATA, means to you. Submit your responses to CATA’s
February online survey at www.catabus.com to register to win a $40.00 Mario
& Luigi’s gift certificate to be awarded Monday, March 3.
B Route Service Transports Skiers to Tussey Mountain
CATA’s B Route serving Boalsburg provides skiers with an inexpensive way to get to and from Tussey Mountain during the winter months. The route operates Monday through Saturday from the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street. Service returning to Downtown State College operates as late as 8:58 p.m. each night.
Through Friday, March 7, CATA will extend its regular B Route service to accommodate the demand for service to Tussey Mountain. In addition to its regularly scheduled trips, the B Route will provide an extra trip from College & Allen to Tussey Mountain leaving at approximately 5:55 p.m., Monday through Friday. An additional express trip from Tussey to College & Allen will also run on weekdays, leaving at 10:30 p.m.
For more information on this extended service,
please refer to the Spring/Summer 2008 CATA Ride Guide, call (814) 238-CATA(2282),
or visit the CATA website at www.catabus.com.
LOOP Service Extended For THON
CATA will once again provide non-stop LOOP service throughout the duration of the PSU Dance Marathon, scheduled for Friday, February 22, through Sunday, February 24. Both the BLUE and WHITE LOOP routes will operate between 2:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday morning when service does not normally operate.
Service will thus run continuously on the BLUE LOOP and WHITE LOOP for the 48-hour period between 6:00 p.m., Friday, February 22, and 6:00 p.m. Sunday, February 24, with frequency ranging from 5 to 22 minutes.
This service is made possible through a partnership between CATA, Penn State Transportation Services and the 2008 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.
For more information on the Dance Marathon, visit
www.thon.org.
Vanpool Program Proves Success
Since taking over the Penn State vanpool program in October 2007 as part of its CENTRE COMMUTE program, CATA has added two new vanpools, both originating from the Tyrone and Altoona areas. In addition to the program’s existing 200+ registered carpools and 225 active participants, there are now a total of eight vanpools consisting of a minimum of seven commuters, which represent approximately 107 additional participants.
“CATA’s vanpools have saved 6,632 individual trips into State College during the last quarter of 2007, notes Terri Quici, CATA RideShare Coordinator. “This number represents and average savings of over 404,500 miles not driven.”
Anyone interested in registering with CATA’s RideShare program or in learning more about the carpool and vanpool options in the community may do so by visiting the CATA website at www.catabus.com or by submitting their interest to Ms. Quici at rideshare@catabus.com or (814) 238-CATA(2282) ext. 134.