The Centre Area Transportation Authority may expand Campus Loop service by adding a second bus to run along College and Beaver avenues, and CATA and the State College Chamber of Commerce hope to establish a new park-and-ride system that would include the Loop.

The new route will service a parking lot at University Drive and Curtin Road. The University may lease the parking lot to CATA, said Paul Jensen, CATA's planning and marketing specialist.

The second Loop will start at the corner of Curtin Road and Bigler Road, head across campus to Burrowes Road, and down Burrowes to Beaver Avenue. The Loop will travel up Beaver to High Street, up University Drive and back to the starting point.

"Downtown employees often park in garages or neighborhoods, limiting spaces available for shoppers," said Gary Moyer, member of the Downtown Business Association and owner of Moyer's Jewelers, 100 E. College Ave.

Moyer said the Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey to analyze the local interest in the park-and-ride system. Responses indicated about 75 cars may participate in the program, Moyer explained.

"Employees will save money by taking the bus from the lot," Moyer explained. Workers can purchase a monthly pass for $20 instead of buying a $38 permit at the municipal parking lot, Moyer added.

"The park-and-ride system will benefit everyone," Jensen said.

"If employees do not park downtown, more spaces are available for shoppers," Jensen explained, "and that makes everyone happy."

The new Loop will provide students easier access to downtown businesses and give them greater mobility, Moyer said.

Both Loops will continue to cost 25 cents, Jensen said.