CATA announced on Monday that they were exploring the possibility of expanding its fare-free routes beyond the traditional Loops and Links. The general idea would be that on routes that traditionally service student apartment complexes (Vairo Blvd, Aaron Drive, Waupelani), where bus passes are paid by the apartment complexes, would become fare-free with a Penn State ID card. The cost of this would be picked up by the University. CATA plans to use a $100,000 federal grant to conduct the survey.
My question is, why is CATA trying to mess with a system that, in general works? The fare based routes (according to CATA's own end-year report) account for only about 40% of the ridership on the system, and seem to work decently well on the whole.
About a year after CATA dropped its iPhone app on the smartphone-toting masses, it finally decided to let the worshipers of the little green robot in on the fun. On Friday, the official CATA app appeared in the Android market, letting users check to see where their buses are.
Penn State defensive end Sean Stanley was cited for the second time this season. In October, he was charged with one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Last Friday, the citation was for public urination.
Have you ever thought to yourself, "Self, I do believe that the CATA system is the most efficiently run in the country"? If you have, you're not alone. The American Public Transportation Association seems to think so too, as they awarded CATA manager Hugh Mose their Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award.
An accident occurred between a CATA bus and a car around 10:45 last night on the corner of Burrowes St. and Beaver Ave.
Earlier this week we reported that Copper Beech had decided not to renew its contract with CATA for prepaid bus passes for its West Aaron tenants. This was due to the fact that CATA was requesting a 21% rate increase. After several days of angry complaints from the tenants, Copper Beech decided to give the power to the people and allowed the residents to give their input. Yesterday, Copper Beech regional manager Stephen Hilton sent a letter to the West Aaron residents informing them that their CATA privileges would be returned.
Read after the jump to hear more about Copper Beech's decision...