Current Operations CHAPTER II INTRODUCTION DESCRIPTION OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

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1 Chapter II

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3 CHAPTER II Current Operations INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an overview of Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA). CATA is a joint municipal authority formed under the Municipal Authorities Act of CATA was first incorporated on May 17, 1974 and then reorganized on February 5, 1982 by five local municipalities the Borough of State College and the four surrounding townships of Patton, Ferguson, Harris,and College. CATA has two offices. The Main Office is on the K Route, located at 2081 West Whitehall Road, and the Downtown Pass Sales Office is located at 108 East Beaver Avenue. Office hours are approximately from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with passes available until 4:30 p.m. DESCRIPTION OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES CATA has three main services CATABUS, CATACOMMUTE, and CATARIDE. CATABUS has two groups of fixed-route services the Community Service (formerly called Centre Line) and the Campus Service. The Community Service has 18 community bus routes that provide service between downtown State College, the Penn State Campus, the borough of Bellefonte, the village of Pleasant Gap, and many other special points of interest. The Campus Service has four routes that provide circulator service between the Penn State Campus and downtown State College (LOOP service) and cross-campus shuttle service (LINK service). The Campus Service is a fare-free service that is possible because of the partnership between the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and CATA through Penn State Transportation Services. CATACOMMUTE is designed for long-distance commuters and includes programs such as rideshare, vanpool, and guaranteed ride home. Rideshare is a free ridematching service that helps connect commuters who travel at similar times to a similar destination to and from work using carpools and vanpools as their mode State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 LSC Page II-1

4 Current Operations of transportation. The vanpool program assists groups of 7 to 12 riders share their commute through a vanpool service provided by CATA. The guaranteed ride home program provides an emergency ride home for those in rideshare arrangements, taking the fear out of being stranded. CATARIDE (formerly called Centre Ride) provides curb-to-curb transportation and is available to anyone, but only senior citizens (age 65 or over) or those eligible for paratransit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may use this service at reduced fares. Both seniors and ADA-eligible people need to complete an application eligibility form to use this service. Schedules Figures II-1 through II-3 illustrate the CATABUS Community Service routes on weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, respectively. Figure II-4 illustrates the CATABUS Campus Service routes. Table II-1 shows the various routes in the CATABUS Service, the hours and days of operation on each route. Table II-1 also shows whether the route operates as part of full or reduced service. Both CATABUS Community service and CATABUS Campus service have two different levels of service full and reduced service. There are also certain days during the year where there is no service. For CATABUS Community service, this includes some of the major holidays such as New Year s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. In general, CATABUS Community Service operates on a full service schedule whenever Penn State fall and spring semesters are in session and on reduced service the rest of the year. The CATABUS Campus service is similar to the CATABUS Community Service, operating on a full service schedule whenever Penn State fall and spring semesters are in session and on reduced service the rest of the year such as during the Thanksgiving Break (November and November 26, 2012), Winter Break (December 18-22, 2012 and January 3-6, 2013), Spring Break (March 3-10, 2013), and Summer Sessions (May 6-August 17, 2013). CATABUS Campus service does not operate on November 24 and 25, 2012; December 23, 2012 January 2, 2013; May 28, 2013; and July 4, LSC Page II-2 State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1

5 LSC State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 Page II-3 To Stormstown Route A Route B Route C Route F Route G Route HP Route K Route M Route N Route NE Route NV Route R Figure II-1 CATABUS Community Service - Weekday Route RE Route S Route UT Route V To The Meadows Route Ve Route W Route XB Route XG To Bellfonte To Pleasant Gap

6 LSC Page II-4 State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 Route B Route HP Route M Route N Route R Route V Route W Route XB Route XG Figure II-2 CATABUS Community Service - Saturday To Bellfonte To Pleasant Gap

7 LSC State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 Page II-5 Route M Route N Route R Route V Figure II-3 CATABUS Community Service - Sunday

8 LSC Page II-6 State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 White Loop Blue Loop Red Link Green Link Figure II-4 CATABUS Campus Service

9 LSC State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 Page II-7 Table II-1 Days and Hours of Operation by Route Type Days of Operation Level of Route Route Name Weekday Hours of Operation Service Number Saturday Sunday (Monday-Friday) (Weekday) Community Service A Park Forest Village x 7:24 a.m. to 6:24 p.m. Reduced/Full 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (Weekday); B Boalsburg x x 10:25 a.m. to 6:40 p.m. (Sat) Reduced/Full C Houserville x 7:21 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. Reduced/Full F Pine Grove x 7:13 a.m. to 5:43 p.m. Reduced/Full G Stormstown x 7:00 a.m. to 6:38 p.m. Reduced/Full HP Toftrees/Scenery Park x x 6:26 a.m. to 10:24 p.m. (Weekday); 9:05 a.m. to 8:44 p.m. (Sat) Reduced/Full K Cato Park x 7:01 a.m. to 9:27 p.m. Reduced/Full M Nittany Mall x x x 6:15 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. (Weekday); 7:45 a.m. to 11:47 p.m. (Sat); 9:45 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. (Sun) Reduced/Full N Martin St./Aaron Dr. x x x 6:44 a.m. to 3:19 a.m. (Mon-Sat); 7:44 a.m. to 12:37 a.m. (Sun) Reduced/Full NE Martin/Aaron Express x 7:25 a.m. to 9:54 p.m. Full NV Martin St./Vairo Blvd. x 11:50 a.m. to 7:51 p.m. Full R Waupelani Dr. x x x 6:09 a.m. to 12:44 a.m. (Mon-Fri); 6:49 a.m. to 2:44 a.m. (Sat); 8:49 a.m. to 12:44 a.m. (Sun) Reduced/Full RE Westerly Pky Plaza x 7:24 a.m. to 11:04 a.m. (Weekday AM); 3:50 p.m. to 7:12 p.m. (Weekday PM) Full S Science Park x 6:33 a.m. to 6:05 p.m. Reduced/Full UT University Terrace x 7:05 a.m. to 6:17 p.m. Full V Vairo Blvd. x x x 6:25 a.m. to 3:10 a.m. (Mon-Sat); 7:45 a.m. to 12:39 a.m. (Sun) Reduced/Full VE Vairo Blvd. Express x 7:05 a.m. to 10:16 p.m. Full W Valley Vista x x 6:35 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. (Weekday); 9:14 a.m. to 8:10 p.m. (Sat) Reduced/Full XB Bellefonte x x 6:07 a.m. to 11:26 p.m. (Weekday); 12:06 p.m. to 8:02 p.m. (Sat) Reduced/Full XG Pleasant Gap x x 6:54 a.m. to 10:32 p.m. (Weekday); 12:59 p.m. to 6:58 p.m. (Sat) Reduced/Full Community Service Subtotal Campus Service WL White Loop x x x 4:45 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. (Mon-Wed); 4:45 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. (Thurs and Fri); 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. (Sat and Sun) Full BL Blue Loop x x* x* 4:45 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. (Mon-Wed); 4:45 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. (Thurs and Fri); 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. (Sat and Sun) Reduced/Full RL Red Link x x* x* 4:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Weekday); 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. (Sat and Sun) Reduced/Full GL Green Link x 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Weekday) Full Campus Service Subtotal Game Day Football Shuttle DT Downtown varies Afternoon Kickoffs (before 6:00 p.m.)-3 hours before kickoff and runs until 1 hour after n/a SA South Atherton varies game ends; Evening kickoffs (6:00 p.m. or later)-begins at 3:00 p.m. and runs until 12:30 a.m. n/a Game Day Football Shuttle Subtotal TOTAL (Community, Campus, and Game Day Football Shuttle) * Available only during full service. Source: CATABUS, 2012

10 Current Operations Fleet and Facility Information The agency has a current revenue fleet of 69 active vehicles 64 vehicles are used for CATABUS service and five vans are used for CATARIDE services. The revenue vehicle fleet information for both CATABUS and CATARIDE is provided in Table II-2. The CATABUS vehicles range from 1996 to 2012 models. Seating capacities range from 30 to 42 passengers and the fleet includes vehicles made by New Flyer and Eldorado. All vehicles are wheelchair-accessible and are equipped with bicycle racks. The vehicles are stored and maintained at the main office located on 2081 West Whitehall Road, across from the Ferguson Township Administration. CATA s fleet also consists of nine buses in a contingency reserve, 35 vanpool vans, and 16 service vehicles. CATA s fleet is more than twice the capacity of its current storage and maintenance facility. Many vehicles must be parked outdoors. This adds an additional burden on staff to move buses for critical repairs, cleaning, fueling and to start buses in winter. The service lane is at capacity as all CNG vehicles must be fueled each night for service the next day. CATA has sought $12.3 million in funding through the Federal Transit Administration s (FTA) State of Good Repair (SGR) grant program to upgrade and expand its bus storage and maintenance facility. CATA is visualizing a three-phase program. Phase 1, which includes minor modifications to the existing facility, is already funded and underway. Phase 2 is estimated to cost $17.5 million and is the focus of CATA s SGR grant request ($12.3 million or 70 percent of the total $17.5 million). This phase includes a new maintenance facility, fuel and wash facilities, and a bus storage facility expansion that will increase capacity from the current 64 buses to 80 buses. Phase 3 includes additional bus storage for a total capacity of 96 coach buses and employee parking of 150 cars. LSC Page II-8 State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1

11 Current Operations Vehicle Make Table II-2 CATA Vehicle Inventory Year Fixed-Route Vehicles (CATABUS) Seating Capacity Condition # of Un its New Flyer Excellent 18 New Flyer Excellent 10 Eldorado Excellent 4 New Flyer Excellent 9 New Flyer Fair 1 New Flyer Excellent 4 New Flyer Excellent 6 New Flyer Excellent 8 New Flyer Excellent 2 New Flyer* Fair 2 Orion* Excellent 7 New Flyer Fair 2 Paratransit Vehicles (CATARIDE) Ford Excellent 2 Ford E Excellent 2 Dodge Fair 1 *Contingency reserve fleet Source, CATA, Staffing CATA currently has 145 employees. Employees consist of 98 bus drivers, nine administrative support personnel, 20 maintenance staff, and 18 management/ supervisory employees. Figure II-5 shows the CATA organizational chart for FY State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 LSC Page II-9

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13 Current Operations Financial Status Revenues Table II-3 shows a breakdown of the budgeted subsidy and operating revenue for FY The revenue required to operate CATA comes from a variety of sources including state grants, federal grants, and passenger fares/passes/purchase of service (POS). The total budgeted revenue in FY is $13,144,830. State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 LSC Page II-11

14 Table II-3 CATA FY Operating Budget Revenues Receipts Budgeted Revenues Percentage of Budget Passenger Revenue Farebox $1,054,000 8% OnePass $1,203,500 9% Football Shuttle $58,000 0% Paratransit $119,000 1% Vanpool $318,000 2% Purchase of Service $1,488,185 11% LOOP Revenue $2,073,400 16% Subtotal - Passenger Revenue $6,314,085 48% Other Operating Income Charter $0 0% Advertising $135,000 1% Interest $450 0% Vehicle Lease $0 0% Misc. Transportation Revenue $200 0% Misc. Non-Transportation Revenue $4,600 0% Subtotal - Other Operating Income $140,250 1% Special Reimbursement Funding Senior Citizen Shared Ride $275,000 2% Transportation Planning Grants $85,000 1% Demonstration Grants $0 0% Rideshare Support $34,800 0% Subtotal - Special Reimbursements $394,800 3% TOTAL Operating Revenue $6,849,135 52% Federal Operating Assistance $2,024,348 15% CMAQ Grants $25,000 0% State Operating Assistance $3,760,383 29% Subtotal - Operating Assistance $5,809,731 44% Local Contributions State College Borough $75,100 1% Ferguson Township $82,118 1% Patton Township $77,481 1% College Township $63,351 0% Harris Township $26,394 0% Bellefonte Borough $16,343 0% Spring Township $17,142 0% Benner Township $3,498 0% Halfmoon Township $6,002 0% Penn State University $118,535 1% Subtotal - Local Contributions $485,964 4% TOTAL Subsidy $6,295,695 48% TOTAL (Subsidy and Operating Revenue) $13,144, % Source: CATABUS, LSC Page II-12 State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1

15 Current Operations Expenses The other half of the total equation is, of course, expenditures. Total budgeted expenditures for CATA services for the fiscal year are $13,144,830. This expenditure includes both paratransit and vanpool services. CATABUS s budgeted operating costs for the fiscal year are $12,019,730 as shown in the following section which presents the cost allocation model. The primary expenses for CATABUS and all other transit agencies across the United States are salaries and benefits. Cost Allocation Model Financial, ridership, and service information can be used to develop internal evaluation tools for CATABUS. A cost allocation model provides base information against which current operations can be judged. In addition, the model is useful for estimating the cost ramifications of any proposed service alternative. The CATABUS cost allocation model is shown in Table II-4. PROPOSED ACCOUNT Adm inistrative Salaries/W ages/be nefits and misc. expenses Table II-4 CATABUS FY C ost Allocation M odel (does not include Vanpool and Paratransit Costs) Budget Vehicle- Vehicle- Fixed FY12-13 Hours Miles Cost $1,621,930 $1,621,930 Other Maintenance Expenses $595,500 $595,500 Op. Sa laries/w ages/be nefits $6,951,700 $6,951,700 Other Transportation Expenses $272,600 $272,600 Maint. Sa laries/w ages/be nefits $1,967,000 $1,967,000 Tires/Fuel $611,000 $611,000 TOTAL CATABUS OPERATING COSTS $12,019,730 $6,951,700 $2,578,000 $2,490,030 Para trans it $784,100 Vanpool $341,000 CATA OPERATING COSTS $13,144,830 Service Variable Quantities veh-hrs veh-mls Fixed-C ost (FY ) (FY ) Factor Used for Planning Purposes 125,207 1,583,792 Source: CATA, $55.52 $ State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1 LSC Page II-13

16 Current Operations Cost information from the fiscal year was used to develop a two-factor cost allocation model of current CATABUS operations. In order to develop such a model, each cost line item is allocated to one of three service variables hours, miles, and fixed costs. Fixed costs are those costs that are identified/defined as being constant. These costs do not increase or decrease based on the level of service. This is a valid assumption for the short term, although fixed costs could change over the long term (more than one or two years). Examples of the cost allocation methodology include allocating fuel costs to vehicle-miles and allocating operator salaries to vehicle-hours. The total costs allocated to each variable are then divided by the total quantity (i.e., total revenue-miles or hours) to determine a cost rate for each variable. The CATABUS current revenue-miles and revenuehours used data from the most recent fiscal year, , for which information was available. The allocation of costs for CATABUS s operations yields the following cost equation for existing bus operations: Total Cost = $2,490,030 + ($1.63 x Revenue-Miles) + ( $55.52 x Revenue-Hours) OR Total Cost = ($1.63 x Revenue-Miles + $55.52 x Revenue-Hours) x Fixed-cost factor (1.26) Incremental costs such as the extension of service hours or service routes/areas are evaluated considering only the mileage and hourly costs: Incremental Costs = ($1.63 x Revenue-Miles) + ($55.52 x Revenue-Hours) LSC Page II-14 State College Universal Transit Access Study, Interim Report #1