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CATA’s staff is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded approximately $1.4 million in federal funding earmarks through the Transportation/HUD Appropriations bill for the 2008 fiscal year.
The earmarks, $735,000 of which was secured by Congressman John Peterson and approximately $700,000 of which was secured by Senators Arlen Specter and Robert Casey, Jr., will allow CATA to begin an anticipated CNG fleet replacement project. CATA currently plans to replace ten of its sixteen 1996 40-foot Orion clean natural gas-powered buses with a like number of 40-foot, clean natural gas-powered low-floor coaches. There is an opportunity as well that two of those buses will be powered by a CNG-hybrid propulsion system. In the coming years, the remaining six Orion buses will most likely be replaced with four sixty-foot articulated buses, powered by CNG-hybrid propulsion systems.
CATA is certainly fortunate for the support it receives from both Congressman Peterson and Senators Specter and Casey. There is no doubt that the funds allotted to the bus replacement project will allow for CATA over the coming years to better its services and provide additional services to the community at large.
If you have any questions regarding these funds or would like additional information, please feel free to contact me directly by phone or at (814) 238-2282 ext. 130 or via email at hmose@catabus.com.
Hugh A. Mose
CATA General Manager
In observance of the upcoming break in the Penn State Spring Semester that will take place Monday, March 10, through Friday, March 14, CATA’s CENTRE LINE, CENTRE RIDE, LOOP, and LINK services will operate on a reduced service schedule as noted below.
All CENTRE LINE and CENTRE RIDE service will operate on Reduced Service Monday, March 10, through Sunday, March 16. Full Service will resume on all routes Monday, March 17.
There will be no LOOP or LINK service Saturday,
March 8, Sunday, March 9 or Saturday, March 15. The LOOP and LINK will operate
on Reduced Service Monday, March 10, through Friday, March 14. (Please note
that the WHITE LOOP and GREEN LINK do not operate during these times). Full
Service on the LOOP and LINK will resume on Sunday, March 16.
CATA Public Hearing Well Attended
CATA’s Board of Directors held a public hearing in conjunction with its February Board Meeting on Monday, February 25, 2008. The Public Hearing, which was attended by a handful of community members, 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.
At the meeting, CATA staff introduced a list of possible service enhancements for the coming 2008/09 fiscal year and a number of attendees provided their comments and suggestions for future service changes. A copy of the minutes for the Public Hearing will be available within the next month on the CATA website, www.catabus.com.
Special thanks to all who attended the Public Hearing and/or
provided comments via telephone, email, and mail.
Visit CATA to Win Tickets To “Walking With Dinosaurs!”
The Internationally acclaimed BBC production, “Walking with Dinosaurs” roars into the Bryce Jordan Center, March 20 – 23 for seven shows that shouldn’t be missed. Some lucky winners of the Walking With Dinosaurs Sweepstakes, sponsored in part by CATA, will get to see this show and one lucky winner will receive a family four pack that includes “Back Stage Tour” passes, an official program, and excellent show tickets for Friday, March 21 at 7:30 PM! So don’t wait! Stop in at either CATA office location or participating Downtown shops and enter to win! This sweepstakes will run March 1 – 16 and the Grand Prize winner will be announced on the 95.3 FM - 3WZ Morning Show.
For more information on the “Walking With Dinosaurs Show,” please visit the Bryce Jordan Center website at www.bjc.psu.edu.
Penn State Full-Time Employees Are Reminded to Ride For Five!
To encourage the use of mass transit in the area, Penn State’s Department of Transportation Services initiated in 2002 a program to help cover the cost of a mass transit pass for University employees who live in the CATA’s CENTRE LINE service area. Full-time employees can benefit from Penn State’s Ride-for-Five program for the very low cost of only $5.00 per month through payroll deduction, which will provide them with a bus pass good on all regular CATA CENTRE LINE bus routes.
In order to qualify for the program a person must be a full-time employee of the University and either not possess a University parking permit or relinquish their current permit to the Parking Office. In return, the employee will receive a transit pass valid on all CATA CENTRE LINE bus routes and four one-day parking permits per fiscal year. The employee cost for this monthly transit pass is only $5 per month, available through payroll deduction (pre-tax). Transportation Services then covers the remaining cost of the pass to assist and encourage University employees to use the transit service provided by CATA. To date, over 600 University employees have taken advantage of the program.
If you are a full-time University employee and wish to take advantage of the PSU Employee Mass Transit Pass, please contact or visit the University Park Campus Parking Office at the Eisenhower Deck, (814) 865-1436.
For those employees who live outside of CATA’s
CENTRE LINE service area, CATA’s CENTRE COMMUTE program offers carpool
and vanpool matching services, as well as a Guaranteed Ride Home “safety
net.” For more information on these service, please contact Terri Quici,
CATA RideShare Coordinator, at (814) 238-CATA(2282) ext. 134 or visit www.catabus.com.
Register to Win! CATA March Online Survey
Special thanks to those who participated in CATA’s January online survey. Susan Baker of State College was chosen randomly as the winner of a $40.00 Mario & Luigi’s gift certificate!
This month, we’re asking you to tell us about your favorite CATA Driver(s). Submit your responses to CATA’s March online survey at www.catabus.com to register to win a $40.00 Mario & Luigi’s gift certificate to be awarded Tuesday, April 1.