CATA Schedules Public Hearing for Proposed Service Changes

The Centre Area Transportation Authority will hold a public hearing on several service changes proposed to go into effect this fall.

An open-house format public hearing will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on May 23 in the Downsbrough Community Room of Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen St. For accommodations for individuals with special needs related to language, sight or hearing, call (814) 238-CATA(2282) ext. 5131 or email cata@catabus.com at least five days prior to the hearing.

Here’s a look at the proposed service changes:

• CATA Go Northwest and Southwest zones would be combined into a new zone yet to be named serving portions of western State College and Patton and Ferguson townships.

• The CATA Go zone in Boalsburg would be expanded to better serve the medical offices in Scenery Park. The change would extend the current zone to include the area where the medical offices are located and would not result in any additional cost.

• The Red Link would stop at Medlar Field and would no longer continue to Mount Nittany Medical Center and Innovation Park.

• Service to Mount Nittany Medical Center would transition from fixed route bus service to CATA Go service, utilizing destination points to transfer from a fixed route stop to CATA Go to complete the trip to the hospital.

• Fare for CATA Ride, which provides service for individuals 65 and over and for people eligible for paratransit, will increase by 25 cents to $4.25. The CATA board approved an increase for CATA Ride fares in 2021 to take place over the following two fiscal years. This two-year increase was discussed in public hearings in the spring of 2021. Following those hearings, PennDOT approved the initial application for a 50 cent increase from $3.50 to $4.00 for 2022 but requested that CATA submit a separate application for the subsequent 25 cent increase, which will take place this year.

The proposed changes tentatively will go into effect on Aug. 17.

In addition to the public hearing, public comment also can be submitted until May 24 through the CATA website, by emailing comments@catabus.com or by contacting CATA’s Customer Service Center at (814) 238-2282 during normal business hours.