News > Campus > Administration

July 30, 2010 at 4:59 AM

CATA hikes fares

By Nathan Pipenberg
Collegian Columnist
Students who take the bus for trips around town and off-campus will soon find themselves scrambling to find another quarter in their pockets. On Sunday, the price for a one-way ride on CATA buses will increase from $1.25 to $1.50 to offset rising costs. Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) Marketing Manager Jacqueline Sheader said most Penn State students purchase bus passes through their apartment complexes rather than directly from CATA. These prices may also increase, but are usually attached to the price of an apartment lease, CATA Board of Directors Chairman John Spychalski said at an April public hearing concerning the fare increase. Fares for monthly, semester and yearlong passes will also increase, as will fares for the taxi-like service called CATARIDE. CATARIDE fares will rise from $1.50 to $2.00 for senior citizens and from $2.50 to $3.00 for disabled passengers. Members of the general public will see fares jump from $10 to $13.35 per one-way trip. The increase is the first hike in bus fares in eight years, CATA General Manager Hugh Mose said. At the April meeting there was little public input, either positive or negative. No students were in attendance, and only two community members spoke. In the months following the meeting, the fare increase was approved as part of the yearly budget process. In May, Mose presented the budget to all nine local municipalities that CATA serves. Mose said he received generally positive feedback from the municipalities, whom he also asked for increased funding to offset costs. Funding from municipalities increased five percent overall, Mose said. Though the municipalities provide only a small amount of funding, Spychalski said federal and state funding only increases when local funding does as well. Before the local increase, Mose said local funding amounts to about $340,000, while federal and state allocations reach nearly $6 million. This year's increase should provide $17,000 in additional local funding, Mose said. "The fare increase has been reasonably well accepted by the traveling public," he said. "Most people realize that the cost of providing service is going up."

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