UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Transportation Services and the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) will reinstate the Blue Loop on Monday, Oct. 5, for the remainder of the calendar year. Students, faculty and staff remain encouraged to walk or bike when possible, and to follow passenger safety protocols for mask-wearing and social distancing at all times when utilizing CATA services.
The Blue Loop will follow its normal campus route with service starting at 4:45 a.m. during the week and 9 a.m. on Saturdays, ending at 10 p.m. each night. In addition to the Blue Loop returning to service, Green Link service will be reduced back to its normal fall service, while the Red Link service will remain at its current service level. There will continue to be no White Loop service and no service on Sundays for all CATA routes.
The Blue and White Loops were eliminated at the start of the fall semester to make those buses and drivers normally used for the service available to CATA for other routes in the community that transport students, faculty and staff to and from campus, in an effort to ease the burden of normally heavily utilized trips and allow for more physical distancing when possible during the COVID pandemic. As the result of the number of classes currently being offered either online or in a hybrid format, off-campus trip demand has been lower than expected, leading Transportation Services and CATA to reallocate those resources to reinstate the Blue Loop.
CATA is requiring all passengers to wear a face covering while waiting for or riding on CATA services and practice social distancing when and where possible as part of its fall 2020 passenger protocols. CATA also has implemented a daily schedule of disinfecting all vehicles through rigorous industrial electrostatic cleaning and sanitation. To provide the best opportunity for a more socially distanced riding experience, riders are encouraged to plan trips in advance and to ride during off-peak times. Real-time bus locations and arrival predictions are available through the MyStop, TransLoc or Penn State Go mobile apps.
Please review CATA's overall plans and passenger protocols for fall 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic at https://catabus.com/protocols-fall2020/.
Complete route and schedule information for all CATA bus routes can be found at www.catabus.com, or by contacting CATA's Customer Service Center at 814-238-CATA (2282) during normal business hours.
Those with comments or concerns may contact CATA at 814-238-CATA (2282) during normal business hours or email CATA staff at comments@catabus.com.