After more than a year of planning and three full months of operation, Centre Area Transportation Authority's Park-and-Ride system has been a "disappointment" to the bus line's administrators.

Struggling to reach the expected commuter participation, CATA has sold only 37 subscriptions for a 140-space parking lot this month, said Stefan Fabian-Marks, CATA planning and marketing director.

The $20 park and ride subscription includes a monthly bus pass and a parking permit to the lot at the southeast corner of University Drive and Curtin Road. The program was originally planned to alleviate parking congestion downtown, and several businesses have encouraged employees to use the lot.

At a monthly board meeting Monday afternoon, CATA General Manager Kevin Abbey told members the program was not doing as well as they had hoped -- bus occupancy is well below an anticipated 75 percent mark.

In November subscriptions totaled 52, but have decreased since.

Fabian-Marks said the reason for the decrease may be the result of changing parking needs in the borough. He added that a few former subscribers did not renew because their cars are now inoperable.

Although the Park-and-Ride program has been a letdown, Abbey said the Town Loop has exceeded CATA predictions.

Before the new loop was added, CATA and the University were concerned the Campus Loop ridership would decrease more than 15 percent if another bus traveled on campus. But, Campus Loop ridership decreased only 1 percent with an increase of 54 percent on both loops, Abbey said.

The University employs the drivers and provides insurance, while CATA supplies and maintains the loop buses. All the revenue collected from both the Campus and Town Loops is evenly distributed between the University and CATA, he said.

Before the Town Loop was added, the University was breaking even with expenses and officials were worried about taking a loss, Abbey said.

CATA has estimated the service's 1990 revenue to be $58,000. In three months, the loop revenue averaged $6,000 and has covered all expenses, Abbey said.

About 2,080 passengers ride the Town Loop everyday and 3,404 ride the Campus Loop, Abbey added.

Before the regular board meeting Monday, residents were invited to offer suggestions and complaints during a CATA public hearing.

Some suggested CATA add Centre Line bus stops in areas which are not currently part of the bus route.

Jolly Harris of Bellefonte asked the members why Centre Line did not travel to Bellefonte on Saturdays.

Abbey said the board discussed Saturday service to Bellefonte for many years, but nothing ever materialized.

"It would be a natural tie into the region," Abbey said.

Joe Gilbert, CATA director of transportation, said adding the bus service would be a good idea, but Bellefonte would be asked to help pay for expenses.

Residents also asked about adding service to Science Park and the Willowbrook area.

Abbey said any added service could not be guaranteed because the authority has been told by the federal transportation authority to cut expenses.