Beginning Wednesday, March 25, the Centre Area Transportation Authority will cease the operation of all but five bus routes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HM (Nittany Mall/Toftrees), P (Tussey Mountain), NV (Harvershire/Martin/Vairo/Toftrees), RP (Waupelani Drive/Downtown), and W (Valley Vista) routes will operate on a modified service schedule with reduced frequencies. The Blue Loop and Red Link will continue to operate, also at reduced frequencies. Adjusted route schedules will be available at www.catabus.com no later than Tuesday.
All available service will operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. and there will be no weekend service.
As previously announced, CATA is not collecting fares on any of its services and passengers are asked to board at the rear door of the bus, if they are able to do so. The downtown service center is closed to walk-in business, but staff are available by phone to answer questions 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
CATA Ride and the CATA Go microtransit service are only available to provide transportation to destinations currently permitted by the state, such as grocery stores, medical appointments, employers that are allowed to operate and religious organizations.
CATA Ride is operating 4:45 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Service on Saturdays will be limited to only trips for life-sustaining treatment such as dialysis and chemotherapy and radiation. Reservations for next-day trips may be made 8 a.m.-5 p.m Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
CATA Go service, which has been expanded to include the Pleasant Gap area, is operating 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Information on how to make reservations and use the service may be found by visiting www.catabus.com/goor by contacting CATA’s Customer Service Center at (814) 238-2282 during regular business hours.
“We are working to keep some level of service operating for those passengers who need us right now. Our ridership is down significantly as it should be if we are doing what the governor and health care advocates are asking us — so we strongly believe that those passengers who are still riding with us are the ones who need us most and likely have little other options,” CATA Executive Director and CEO Louwana Oliva said in a news release. “These are often the people who work behind the scenes at those life sustaining companies that are still operating like grocery stores and medical facilities and older adults and people who need us to get to treatments like dialysis. We want to be there for these passengers, but we are also balancing that against the impact of nearly non-existent revenue streams.”
CATA is asking those who will be adversely affected by the service reductions to contact the customer service center.
“By the end of next week, we will likely have laid off approximately 80 percent of our staff in order to maintain emergency levels of service to keep serving these passengers. If you are one of these people, who need to get to critical medical appointments or work in a life sustaining operation under the governor’s proclamation and what remains of our service means you can no longer get there, please call us,” Oliva said.
“We are trying to devise creative ways to help with the resources we have. We can’t promise we can answer every need but we need better information on where the need is located.”
