On Thursday February 9th CATA officials presented a request to the Crawford County Commissioners to provide local matching funds to CATA for the construction of a Storage and Wash facility in the Meadville area.

The Storage and Wash facility project has been a major need of CATA’s for many years. In 2010, the PennDOT Bureau of Public Transportation assisted CATA in preparing conceptual planning documents and beginning the early stages of this project. However, due to funding constraints, the project was put on hold. Within the last month, over 3.1 Million dollars of discretionary State and Federal funding has been made available to CATA subject to the local matching requirements in the amount of $23,026.00.

At the Commissioners meeting this past Thursday, the Commissioners voted unanimously to support the project and indicated that discretionary grants in transportation are very hard to find and that this project will be a major asset for CATA and the community. CATA anticipates that CATA will save over $9,000.00 a year in operational costs by parking buses on property owned by CATA as opposed to paying lot fees to private contractors in the area. The facility will also provide indoor storage of the CATA fleet which will further help reduce long term maintenance costs.

With the commitment of local funding, the project will be advancing into the design and engineering phases over the next few months with anticipated construction activities to begin in the mid to late summer of 2012.

Stay up to date with CATA on Twitter by following us at: #Meadville_CATA

You can now connect with CATA like never before. CATA has launched a Twitter account that will allow us to reach our riders with up to the minute information on route changes, detours, etc when there is construction, accidents or other factors that effect our bus routes. Go to www.twitter.com and follow us @Meadville_CATA

CATA is also launching a QR code that will be available on all fixed route buses and at the CATA office. The QR code can be scanned into your smart phone for quick access to the CATA twitter account, the CATA website and the CATA Loop finder. Always know ahead of time if your bus is going to be late and know exactly when the Loop will be coming to your stop through the CATA QR code.

If you need additional information, please contact us at 814-336-5600 or information@catabus.org

It’s that time of the year again! The largest nighttime parade in the state of Pennsylvania is the Annual Crawford Area Young Chamber of Commerce Halloween Parade. Slated to kick off at 6:30 PM on Saturday October 29th. The parade draws over 10,000 visitors into downtown Meadville each year. As always, CATA will have one of our buses on display in the parade route. Come downtown early and enjoy all that Meadville has to offer and pick a good spot to watch the parade. We hope to see you there!

CATA’s popular Meadville fixed route “The Loop” is back in operation. The Loop connects the Allegheny College campus area with downtown Meadville and various shopping and recreation destinations in the area. The Loop runs from 4:00 PM – 2:30 AM Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Be sure to visit our website to download The Loop brochure.

The Loop is open to the general public and regular fixed route fares apply. Thanks to a partnership with CATA and Allegheny College Student Activities, all current students can use The Loop and all other Meadville fixed routes for FREE by showing a valid student ID to the bus driver. Also in partnership between CATA, Allegheny College and NextBus, you can get Real Time updates on the location of The Loop on your smart phone!!! Visit www.Nextbus.com and search for Transit Authorities in PA and select Allegheny College. standard text, data and Internet rates may apply. So, hop on the bus, relax and enjoy the ride!!

It’s that time of the year again and the 66th Annual Crawford County fair is sure to be a great experience again this year.

CATA will be providing regular bus service open to the general public on the following dates and times:

Saturday Aug 20 – First bus leaves the Downtown Mall at 11:15 AM, last bus leaves the Fair at 10:45 PM
Sunday Aug 21 – no bus service to the Fair
Monday Aug 22 – Saturday Aug 27 – First bus leaves the Downtown Mall at 11:15 AM, last bus leaves the Fair at 10:45 PM

CATA will pick up and drop off at Fairgrounds Gate 1. Service operates every :45 minutes all day long and regular bus fares apply. You can get a copy of the Fair Route bus schedule from any CATA bus or visit us on the web at www.catabus.org to see our schedule.

Also, if you are planning to go to the Lady Antebellum or the Luke Bryan Concerts…you can ride the bus for FREE by showing your concert ticket to the bus driver courtesy of the Crawford County Fair Board.

So enjoy the Fair and be sure to see all the best that Crawford County has to offer. As always, you can call CATA at 814-336-5600 for information on our Fair route or any other services we provide.

It’s hard to believe but the 66th Annual Crawford County Fair starts next week! This year the Fair will start off with one of the biggest concerts in recent years as Lady Antebellum takes the stage on Saturday August 20th.

CATA will be giving away a pair of tickets to see the concert by running a promotion from Monday August 15th – Wednesday August 17th. With every paid adult fare or senior rider that boards one of the Meadville fixed routes, an entry form will be given for your chance to win the tickets. It’s that easy, just ride the bus and get entered to win. The more you ride, the more chances you have to win. CATA will announce the winner the next day on Thursday August 18th. This promotion and/or the concert tickets do not include gate admission to the fair.

In addition to the concert ticket promotion, CATA will again provide regular bus service to the Fairgrounds on Saturday August 20th and then again Monday August 22nd – Saturday August 27th. There will be no bus service to the Fair on Sunday August 21st. Regular bus fares apply. The Fair shuttle will begin at the Downtown Mall and drop off at Fairgrounds Gate 1. Service starts each day at 11:15AM with service provided every :45 minutes and the last bus leaves the Fair at 10:55PM. You can get a schedule for the Fair shuttle on any bus, at the CATA office at 214 Pine Street or on the CATA website. So sit back, relax, enjoy the ride and maybe you will be the one to win the Lady Antebellum concert tickets!!!

You can contact CATA for more information at 814-336-5600 or at information@catabus.org

Please be our guest and help us celebrate the grand opening of our new facility on Wednesday June 29th at 2:00PM. We will have a brief ceremony followed by a ceremonial flag raising, tours of the building and refreshments. Parking around the CATA building is limited so we will be offering a shuttle from the Downtown Mall Parking lot running every 10:00 minutes starting at 1:30PM.

Come see our new state of the art, energy efficient public transportation facility in downtown Meadville!!!

CATA – 214 Pine Street Meadville, PA 16335

CATA is pleased to announce the public opening of the new Downtown Administration/Operations facility in Meadville. This facility, pursuing LEED Silver certification, will open at 8:00AM Tuesday May 31st. The facility will feature indoor passenger waiting, restrooms and a dispatch center to buy bus passes and get all your transit information.

The new facility features many innovative and environmentally friendly features such as 2nd floor sky lighting, intelligent daylight sensors in each office, recycled fabric in the carpet and furniture and many other features. A Grand Opening reception is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday June 29th at 2:00 PM. More information about the Grand Opening will be released in the upcoming weeks.

Please stop by and see our new facility and as always, thanks for riding the CAT!

CATA is pleased to announce daily bus service from the Conneaut Lake and Harmonsburg areas into Meadville! CATA is expanding the Shared Ride program to offer bus service Monday – Fridays between the hours of 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

The Shared Ride program is open to the general public but seniors age 65 and older and persons with disabilities can ride at a discount thanks in part to funding from the PA Lottery. One way fares for seniors and persons with disabilities are $3.25.

Go shopping, catch an afternoon movie, schedule a doctors appointment or visit a friend, CATA is here for you! All CATA vehicles are ADA accessible and can accommodate wheelchairs. All persons interested in riding must be registered with CATA and all Shared Ride rules and restrictions apply. Please call our office at 814-336-5600 for more information.

CATA – providing reliable public transportation options since 1979.

With the summer behind us and winter ahead, CATA is full steam ahead in the construction of our new facility in downtown Meadville. Once completed, this facility will be a central hub for public transportation in Meadville housing all CATA administration, operations and dispatch. The new facility will include indoor passenger waiting areas and other passenger amenities. CATA anticipates that this facility, once finished, will be designated as a LEED facility. LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design” and in its most basic sense means that CATA is going “green” or “environmentally friendly”. Our facility will be only the second LEED certified public transportation facility in the state of Pennsylvania! Be sure to visit the CATA website often to see the latest construction photos as they are posted. Rest assured that as the winter sets in and the cold weather finally hits, CATA will be working hard to have our new facility open to the public in the Spring of 2011!

Visit the CATA website at www.catabus.org