Penn State Transportation Services and the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) announced the expansion of the Ride for Five mass transit program to off-campus graduate students beginning in the fall semester.
Previously available only to full-time faculty and staff, the Ride for Five program was created in 2001 to promote mass transit to decrease vehicle congestion on campus and improve air quality. Users of the program receive a mass transit pass valid on all CATABUS routes at the reduced rate of $5 per month, with Transportation Services covering the remaining cost of each pass to provide graduate students with a sustainable and affordable means of getting to and from campus.
The graduate student mass transit pass will be available only to graduate students who live off campus and who do not have access to a CATABUS pass as part of their apartment lease. In addition, access to a University daytime parking permit will be unavailable to graduate students who register for the Ride for Five mass transit pass, but four one-day commuter parking permits will be provided at no charge for occasions where driving to campus during the day is necessary.
Mass transit pass holders will, however, be permitted to register for an evening/weekend parking permit, which provides access to many faculty/staff parking lots after 4 p.m. weekdays and throughout the day Saturdays and Sundays. Available at a cost of $6 per month, registration for the evening/weekend permit may only be completed at the Parking Office upon receipt of the Ride for Five mass transit pass.
Beginning Monday, Sept. 8, off-campus graduate students may apply for the Ride for Five program at the Transportation Services website. Once eligibility for the program has been confirmed, students will be alerted by email to visit the Parking Office to purchase the mass transit pass. Students will be required to pay the $5 monthly fee through June 30, 2015, via credit card (Visa, MasterCard and Discover), LionCash+, cash or check at the time of registration. Students also have the option to pay the full fee for the period in which the permit is valid, which ends July 31, 2016.
Questions may be directed to the Parking Office.