Capital Area Transportation Authority

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**Capital Area Transportation Authority**

Locale	Lansing, Michigan
Transit type	Bus
Began operation	1972
No. of lines	30
Daily ridership	25,600
Operator	Capital Area Transportation Authority

The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) provides mass transit bus service and paratransit within the metro Lansing, Michigan area (the Michigan capital) including Michigan State University.

1 CATA system
- 1.1 Bus service
- 1.2 Paratransit
2 Fare structures
3 Bicycles on CATA
4 Bus fleet
5 References
6 External links

[edit] CATA system

CATA operates both bus transit and paratransit service across a 600-square-mile area throughout metro Lansing including Michigan State University. CATA boasts the second highest ridership in the state of Michigan, with a total ridership of 9,351,227 in 2005. During the first six months of 2006 CATA recorded 5,956,330 boardings, suggesting that ridership is rising quickly.

CATA has at least 300 employees. It does not operate on major holidays.

[edit] Bus service

Referred to as "fixed route service", CATA's standard bus service operates on thirty routes with both rigid 40 ft. and articulated 60 ft. buses. Most of these are low floor buses manufactured by New Flyer, however a few older high floor GM Rapid Transit Series remain in the fleet. The bus service hub is at the CATA Transportation Center (CTC) in downtown Lansing, with a satellite hub on the MSU campus (see below). In August of 2006, CATA added three new hybrid electric New Flyer buses to its fleet (DE40LFR); making CATA the first company in Michigan to operate hybrid buses. Purchase of additional hybrid-electric buses is planned following a successful evaluation phase.

Fixed route buses use a GPS-based system manufactured by Luminator that periodically plays a voice-recording of the bus's location over the loudspeakers. This is particularly useful to the visually-imparied and users who are unfamiliar with the area. All buses are also equipped with fold-out ramps for users in wheelchairs.

CATA operates a satellite hub, called the MSU/CATA Transportation Center, on the Michigan State University campus. This center serves as a hub for CATA's MSU-based routes; it also consists of a large public parking ramp. Many of the MSU-area routes are called "Spartan Service" - this means that the route only operates during the MSU fall and spring semesters. This includes all routes numbered 30-38. Other routes are partially Spartan Service, that is, they run more frequently and/or longer into the night during these times.

[edit] Paratransit

CATA operates several paratransit services using small buses. Some of these services are available to only certain people (for example, the disabled or elderly). Other services are offered to the general public. One such service, the "Night Owl", offers rides across the MSU campus every night from 2 am to 6 am in order to give students a safer way to traverse campus at these hours.

[edit] Fare structures

CATA offers a variety of payment methods and fares.

[edit] Cash and CATACash

Riders paying by cash use the following fare structure for each one-way trip. All transfers from one route to another are free.

Seniors, disabled, and students: US$0.50
Children under 42 inches tall: Free
All others: US$1.00

The same structure applies to riders using CATACash cards. CATACash cards are issued as change during cash transactions.

[edit] Tokens

Riders may use one CATA token for a one-way trip; again, transfers to another route are free. Tokens may be purchased in sets of 10 for US$8.50 at various retail outlets around the area. They cannot be purchased on board busses.

[edit] Passes

Various ride passes are available that may be used on any numbered route (except commuter lot pass). They may be purchased at various retail outlets in the area.

10-Ride Pass: US$8.50 (US$5.00 for seniors, disabled, and students)
31-Day Pass (unlimited rides for 31 days): US$30.00 (US$14.00 for seniors, disabled, and students)
Student Semester Pass (unlimited rides for one MSU semester, for students only): US$45.00
MSU Communter Lot Pass (unlimited rides on Route 32 only): US$16.50 for one semester, US$27.50 for two semesters

[edit] Bicycles on CATA

Bicycle racks are installed on the front of all CATA buses, except the Route 4 trolley-style busses and small buses used for paratransit (e.g. Spec-Tran, Night Owl). Each bus can accommodate up to two bicycles.

CATA also rents out bike lockers located in downtown Lansing, East Lansing, and LCC.