After several years of fare-free Loop service, many students now take full advantage of the transportation around campus and downtown State College. In recent weeks, the issue of overcrowded buses has drawn attention from university officials and the Undergraduate Student Government (USG).

At a recent USG meeting, Penn State president Graham Spanier said his decision to make the Loop free several years ago was one of the worst decisions he ever made.

There is obviously a problem with overcrowded buses. Students pack onto the bus tightly, and as long as cold weather continues, there seems to be no solution in sight.

There is a solution that can keep the Loop fare-free to a point and could possibly thin the crowds that use the buses.

Students might not know this, but the Loop is technically not "free." Part of each student's tuition goes towards the cost of funding the Loop.

Allowing students a certain number of rides per week would cut down on the large crowds on the Loop.

After using all of their Loop rides in a week, students could pay a nominal fee for each additional Loop trip until the next week begins.

The number of rides could be stored on ID+ cards. Since so many university facilities already require the use of an ID+ card, it would not be too difficult for Loop trips to be encoded on the cards too.

Students might conserve their Loop trips, cutting down on the amount of students who ride the Loop one or two stops. Students might simply stop riding the Loop once they use their weekly trips, lessening crowds even more.

The income from the riders who pay the small fee to ride the Loop above and beyond their allowed rides would allow CATA to earn some extra money, perhaps helping it provide additional services.