Beginning next semester, students riding the Centre Area Transportation Authority's Centre Line will need an extra quarter to make it to destinations outside of the downtown area.

On Monday afternoon, CATA's board of directors voted to increase its base bus fare from $1 to $1.25, starting in August 2002.

The decision was made after the company's budget came out of balance last year, said Hugh Mose, CATA general manager.

While the cost of providing transportation in and around State College continues to rise annually, most federal, state and local funding for CATA stays constant, and does not change, Mose said.

Because CATA provided extra bus service last year, many drivers were paid overtime, Mose said. In addition, the cost of natural gas, which powers the CATA fleet, rose. To balance the budget, the company has reduced service by five percent and will increase fares by 25 cents, he said.

This change has upset some Penn State students.

"Of course I'm not too happy about it," said Archell Dandy (freshman-division of undergraduate studies).

Leslie Gerfin (senior-human development and family studies) agreed. "A dollar's already enough," she said.

David Cooper (senior-architectural engineering) said the increase is a burden on students who do not have other transportation.

"I think that's cruel and unusual punishment for people without a car," Cooper said.

Cooper also said he wouldn't mind the change if CATA increased its services. "It's justified if they increased the service of the Loop buses," he said.

David Boylan (junior-computer science) said the fair increase will be an inconvenience to students.

"A $1.25 is kind of annoying because you always have to carry a quarter around with you," he said.

About 50 percent of CATA's $6 million budget is provided by the university and realty companies that provide tenants with free bus passes, semester passes and tokens, Mose said.

The remainder of the funding is paid by taxpayers, he said.

Mose said that while the base fare of the Centre Lines will increase, the board of directors has not yet determined how it will adjust the price of passes and tokens.

The issue will be addressed at CATA's next board meeting in late January. Mose said students and State College residents are encouraged to attend the meeting. What will remain the same on the Centre Line buses, however, is that neither the fare boxes nor the drivers will be able to provide riders with change.