Within three to four months, the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) will have global positioning systems in all its vehicles, allowing the public to track bus location online.

Called "advanced traveler systems," the software will provide a Web site showing the actual location of the CATA buses.

"You can actually watch the bus going around the campus," Hugh Mose, general manager of CATA, said. "We think in subsequent phases we will be able to provide you that same information on your smart phone or PDA. That's the ultimate goal."

Mose said the initiative will assist students.

"On a snowy day it is important that we know who is on schedule and who's behind so we can add extra buses to provide the best possible service," he said. "It's not fun to stand in the snow for 15 minutes, waiting."

While waiting 25 minutes for a bus on Burrowes Street, Adam Blank (sophomore-information sciences and technology) said he thinks the Web site may take more time than he's willing to spend.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he said. "I don't think people will take the time to look on a Web site."

Once the Web site is available, CATA is looking toward other ways to make real-time information available to bus riders. CATA recently approved the contract with Avail Technologies, Inc., for installation.

"Down the road, at key locations, we will be able to put signage within the bus shelters to show the routes and time of day a bus will be there and depart," Dorsey Houtz, president of Avail Technologies, Inc., said. "The dispatcher will also have the capability to inform of expected delays from accidents."

Eden Reis (sophomore-health policy and administration) said she would frequently visit the Web site.

"Then you can see whether it is faster to walk or take the bus," she said. "I would probably put it in my favorites and just click on it."

Phone numbers will also be posted at each stop, which would allow those without Internet access to call a dispatcher for the location of their ride, Mose said.

The systems will also help drivers keep a consistent schedule.

"If I'm going too fast, the software will tell the driver to slow down and stay at a stop longer," Houtz said. "That way, I'm always five to seven minutes behind the bus in front of me."

Though new to CATA, intelligent buses by Avail Technologies, Inc., have already proven effective in other areas, Houtz said.

"These types of technology have been used in transit for a while," Eric Bernier, service development manger for CATA, said. "They are primarily used in bigger areas, but really, it's the same type of technology that some people have in their cars."

Avail Technologies, Inc., located in State College, is in charge of the bus-positioning system at Stanford University and is looking to develop a close relationship here with CATA.

"Since it's local, we want to try to use CATA to test new technology and try to solve transit issues," Mose said. "We are working to make this very cost effective as well."

Funded by Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., through a federal grant, the initiative will not raise the price of fares of the Loop and Link contract with Penn State, Mose said.

"The more sophisticated, the more it costs to maintain," he said. "In terms of overall picture, we will eventually have to raise rates because costs of everything go up. This effort will not have any relationship with fares or a contract raise at Penn State."