The Centre Area Transportation Authority plans to launch a new service this summer that will replace CATAGo in Bellefonte and Benner Township.
The “B-Line” will be introduced amid looming service cuts resulting from funding shortfalls for service in Bellefonte-area municipalities.
Launching July 1, the B-Line will differ from CATAGo in several key ways.
Service will be available only from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Riders will be required to schedule their trips a day in advance by phone, unlike CATAGo which allows booking through an app same day or in advance.
The B-Line will have 20 designated pick-up and drop-off points in Bellefonte and Benner Township, and will have a connection at the Nittany Mall to the CATA Bus CC fixed route. Spring Township, which has indicated it will not renew its contract with CATA when it expires on June 30, is not included in the service area, so there will be no service to destinations such as the Weis Markets plaza on Buckaroo Lane.
Fares will be $4, cash only, for each ride. No passes or tokens will be accepted. CATAGo and CATA Bus fares are currently $2.20 per ride, with several pass options also available.
Free transfers can be made to the CATA Bus route, but not to CATAGo.
The B-Line will utilize existing CATARide and CATAGo vehicles, a CATA spokesperson said.
A public hearing on the Bellefonte/Benner B-Line is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on April 24, 2024 in the large meeting room on the first floor of the Bellefonte Armory Building, 301 N. Spring St.
CATA had been seeking significant municipal contribution increases from Bellefonte, Benner Township and Spring Township to close substantial operating deficits for service in the area.
The authority was established by, and has primary responsibility to, the Centre Region municipalities of State College Borough and College, Ferguson, Harris and Patton Townships. While it is allowed to contract with other municipalities for services, it is not legally permitted to run deficits for them, CATA Executive Director David Rishel said earlier this year.
According to the authority, the CATAGo microtransit, CATARide paratransit and CATACommute vanpool services contracted by the municipalities are operating at a significant deficit — last year totaling $378,713 combined — and the municipalities need to substantially increase their contributions to continue at the current level of service.
CATAGo, which replaced fixed route bus service to the Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap area in the last year, started in 2020 with two vans to serve the area. Demand has exploded, and it now operates six vans 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.
Spring Township had already notified CATA last year it planned to end its contract, and Benner Township and Bellefonte officials balked at upping their contributions to the extent the authority required — six times Benner’s present contribution and nearly 10 times for Bellefonte.
| Municipality | Total Trips | Cost | Fares | Local Match | Subsidies | Deficit |
| Bellefonte | 41,100 | $671,934 | $58,651 | $25,370 | $365,400 | $222,533 |
| Benner Twp. | 8,892 | $144,367 | $11,751 | $6,188 | $90,224 | $36,199 |
| Spring Twp. | 23,190 | $379,776 | $32,465 | $30,322 | $197,008 | $119,981 |
With Bellefonte pledging an additional $5,000 for its contribution, though, Rishel said CATA could maintain some level of reduced service, operating two vans a few hours in the morning and afternoon on weekdays.
“CATA has been talking to the municipalities to try to find a sweet spot where we can try to maintain some services in the area at a level the municipalities are comfortable subsidizing,” Rishel said in January.
Nearly 30 people raised concerns about potential service cuts during a public hearing in January. While some questioned whether it is CATA or the municipalities at fault, all said they want a solution that will maintain public transportation in the greater Bellefonte area.
“It just seems like this whole thing is a backwards move,” resident John Palmer said. “For a community to not have public transportation is going backwards. People need it.”
