CATA proposes Bellefonte/Benner line as potential solution to cutbacks. Would it work?
With a deadline nearing for a decision about the level of public transportation services in the Bellefonte area, CATA officials presented a potential new program during a Monday meeting with stakeholders.
The Bellefonte-Benner “B-Line” would be different from any of the existing programs in the area, CATA interim CEO David Rishel told the Bellefonte Borough council.
“We’re looking at the possibility of folks who may be going to State College or the university pooling together and using our CATA Commute services,” Rishel said. “This is about the cheapest thing that we could offer, and we’ve never done that before so we’re going to try and offer it locally as well.”
Discussions about the future of CATA in Bellefonte Borough and Benner and Spring townships has been ongoing for months, with CATA saying the municipalities have been operating at a significant deficit and must increase contributions to keep service at the current level. Spring Township has already decided to discontinue its relationship with CATA, but Bellefonte Borough and Benner Township have been working through service levels and funding.
With the proposed line, contributions from Bellefonte Borough and Benner Townships would not need to increase, Rishel said. The line would be made possible through CATA’s partnership with the car rental company Enterprise. If a group of four or more people were all looking to commute to a similar destination together, they could use the service. They would be picked up in the morning and dropped back off in the evening at their home address or a pick-up point.
It would also potentially operate with a slightly higher fare than the other services CATA has offered in the past.
While the finer details of the program are still in the works, Rishel also pointed out other changes that CATA could make to help continue services in the Bellefonte/Benner areas.
“One thing we’re proposing is instead of using the CATAGo app for its traditional use — calling for a vehicle and having one pick you up as soon as it’s available — for this service we will do advanced reservations the day before,” Rishel said. “That will allow us to get more trips scheduled in and we’ll be able to run at a higher rate of productivity.”
This new function would raise CATA’s efficiency as well as deter riders from using the CATAGo services for short, one-to-two block trips — trips that Rishel discourages as they are not an “efficient use of the service.”
The other change that Rishel proposed would be the implementation of pick-up points for the CATAGo services. As many as two dozen points would be located near frequented areas of pickup but the exact location of the proposed points have not been determined yet.
All of the vehicles offered with these potential changes would be fully accessible for residents with disabilities, with the times of operation and future upgrades to these services being fully contingent on how much funding CATA receives.
“The more funding we receive, the more services we’re able to provide,” Rishel said.
Bellefonte Borough council member Doug Johnson asked why a Bellefonte and Benner fixed bus route couldn’t be created using a smaller fleet of buses, like the ones used for CATAGo. But Rishel said that a fixed route using the CATAGo buses would violate CATA’s union contract.
No decision was made by the council on Monday. Bellefonte and Benner have until June 30 to make a decision on whether they would like to continue with CATA’s proposed services for the following fiscal year.
