Bellefonte will end its relationship with the Centre Area Transportation Authority this summer and partner with the Centre County Office of Transportation Services to fill the gap in public transit for borough residents.
Following unanimous votes by Borough Council on Monday, Bellefonte will subsidize rides for residents who do not already qualify for free or reduced fares on the county’s on-demand, door-to-door transportation program beginning in July. The borough’s contract with CATA will not be renewed after it expires on June 30.
CATA had sought a contribution of about $60,000 from Bellefonte to continue operating the B-Line, which offers trips by advanced reservation to designated drop-off points in Bellefonte and to the Nittany Mall and Benner Pike Walmart, with free transfers to the rest of the CATA system.
Instead, Bellefonte will use the approximately $36,000 allocated for public transportation in its 2025 budget to subsidize resident trips through the county transportation service.
“This plan creates a way for people needing to use the transit to know that they will have affordable access more than one day in advance for work and healthcare,” Borough Council member Joanne Tosi-Vasey, a member of Bellefonte’s transit task force, said.
The county transportation office provides transportation to and from anywhere in Centre County at no cost to residents age 60 and older and at a current rate of $4.25 per trip for individuals with disabilities or who receive medical assistance. Bellefonte’s contribution will ensure that residents who don’t qualify for the free or reduced fare will be able to ride at an affordable rate to be determined.
“No one is going to be refused a ride, it’s just a matter of how much that person is going to pay for their ride based on their circumstances, and that could be a very low number,” Borough Council member Kent Bernier said.
David Lomison, county director of transportation, said some people may already qualify for reduced rates and not know it, and the transportation office can help determine that when they call to reserve their ride.
He added that he does not expect the volume of Bellefonte riders to strain the county program’s existing capabilities.
“I don’t see an overwhelming number of people that wouldn’t be served or would put a burden on us,” Lomison said. “I think we can easily absorb the amount of people it would probably bring right now, based on info I’ve been provided from CATA Go and the CATA folks.”
The transportation office is not expected to need to add personnel to accommodate the partnership, at least in the short-term.
“If this would really mushroom out there, then we would have to look at that potential,” Lomison said at Tuesday’s Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting. “But based on all the numbers and the data that we’ve seen so far, I think we’re fine with personnel.”
Rides must be reserved by 2 p.m. the day before, but standing reservations can also be established for a rider who, for example, knows they will be traveling to work at a certain time every week day.
The service generally operates with drop-offs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., though Lomison said there is some flexibility.
“We never let anybody hanging,” he said. “I’ve had drivers wait until 7 at night to bring someone home from a medical appointment.”
The county can have the program for Bellefonte residents ready to go in a matter of weeks, Lomison said, but first the borough will need to establish criteria.
“So if you’re 18-59 and you have no funding source, [the borough] would determine that if it’s to go to work, we’ll take them 5 days a week if they need to go,” Lomison said. “If it’s to go to the grocery store, maybe limit that to one day a week instead of allowing them to go every day. We do have people that ride the vans every day to go somewhere, even if they don’t need to. And they fall within the categories that they are allowed to do that. But if the borough is footing the bill or part of the bill then you would want to set some of the guidelines to follow.”
In addition to providing rides to individuals, the county transportation office has agreements with organizations such as Skills, Centre Volunteers in Medicine and Community Services Group. But this is the first time it will partner with a municipality.
Council member Doug Johnson said the program with the borough will be an “experiment,” but one he is optimistic will work well.
“Will it be perfect? Probably not,” he said. “But we have to start somewhere, and I look at this as a great opportunity to start somewhere.”
He added that the door-to-door service and ability to travel anywhere in the county make it a “win-win” for Bellefonte.
The borough’s withdrawal from CATA is the culmination of a funding stalemate dating back well over a year.
In early 2024, CATA sought a significant municipal contribution increase the close an operating deficit of more than $200,000 for the CATA Go service that had replaced fixed route buses in Bellefonte. The authority — which which was established by the Centre Region municipalities of State College Borough and College, Ferguson, Harris and Patton townships — is allowed to contract with other municipalities like Bellefonte for services, but it is not legally permitted to run deficits for them
Bellefonte officials balked at the increase, signaling it planned to end its contract with the authority in 2025, and CATA came up with the B-Line to continue providing some service to Bellefonte and Benner Township.
Benner Township also intends to withdraw from CATA on July 1. Neighboring Spring Township ended CATA services in 2024.
Bellefonte Borough’s new partnership with the county transportation office will subsidize rides for borough residents only.
Tost-Vasey said Bellefonte’s transit task force will work with Lomison to assist the public in learning how to gain access to and use the service.
“We also need a long-term resolution including grant funds for a transit development plan for the Bellefonte area,” Tosti-Vasey said.
