University Park, Pa. -- The Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) will again be providing shuttle service to the Penn State home football games this season.
CATA's game day football shuttles are again split into two separate routes -- one serving downtown State College (Downtown Shuttle) and one serving Hills Plaza and other South Atherton Street hotels and businesses (South Atherton Shuttle).
The Downtown Shuttle will serve the downtown State College area with the following pickups on Beaver Avenue: the corner of Atherton Street and Beaver Avenue and the Schlow Library stop at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Allen Street.
The South Atherton Shuttle will serve the Hills Plaza parking lot and all designated South Atherton stops from Hills Plaza to Easterly Parkway; it also will serve Rolling Ridge and Windmere drives. Parking is available at the rear parking lot of Hills Plaza, along the streets in Windmere Park (Rolling Ridge Drive and Windmere Drive) and the Easterly Parkway Elementary School. Note that parking at the Hills Plaza this year is limited to the rear of the Plaza only -- no parking in front or alongside of the Ollie's store will be permitted.
Each game day shuttle bus stop is distinctly marked designated by a new special sign showing which of the two shuttle routes serve that stop. Each route will only stop at these marked locations.
The shuttles begin operation three hours before kickoff and run continuously until one hour after each game is over. The exception to this is Oct. 27. At these times the shuttles will begin service five hours before kickoff. Both shuttles operate in both directions every 10 minutes before the game, every 20 minutes during the game and every 10 minutes one-way from the stadium following the game.
Fare for either shuttle is $2, exact fare only. Individuals presenting a valid U.S. Medicare Card, Senior Transit Identification Card or a CATA Reduced Fare Identification Card may ride for half the fare, $1. Remember that passengers pay when boarding the bus and may pay for more than one passenger, but drivers do not carry change.
In addition to the service provided by the shuttles, individuals may also take advantage of the no-fare Blue and White loops that provide continuous service within walking distance of Beaver Stadium to downtown State College until 2:30 a.m. Service beyond downtown to the South Atherton Street hotels and the Hills Plaza is available via the P Route ($1.25 fare) which leaves downtown at the Schlow Library stop at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Allen Street every 70 minutes at 4:15, 5:25 and 6:35 p.m.
For information on these Penn State football shuttle services, including exact routings, refer to the CATA Game Day Shuttles schedule brochures available on all CATA buses, visit the CATA Web site at http://www.catabus.com or call (814) 238-CATA (2282).
H Route, P Route, Loop and Red Link riders are asked to note that starting approximately three hours before each home football game and until about one hour after the games end, CATA will not have access on Fox Hollow Road from the Village at Penn State to Beaver Stadium and the Bryce Jordan Center or on campus from the corner of Curtin and Bigler roads to Beaver Stadium and the Bryce Jordan Center. Therefore, there will be no service onthe P Route, Blue Loop, White Loop or the Red Link past Bigler Road to the stadium and the P Route will be unable to access the Mount Nittany Medical Center. The H Route will not provide service between the Village on Fox Hollow Road and campus.
The Red Link will, however, detour to serve Innovation Park and the Mount Nittany Medical Center via the U.S. Route 322 Expressway. P Route riders needing to get to the Mount Nittany Medical Center will need to transfer to the Red Link at a temporary stop located at the corner of Bigler and Curtin roads.