Capital Area Transportation Authority

Capital Area Transportation Authority

Slogan	Wherever Life Takes You
Founded	1972
Headquarters	4615 Tranter Street
Locale	Lansing, Michigan
Service type	bus service, paratransit
Routes	33
Stations	Transportation Center 420 S. Grand Ave.
Daily ridership	51,500 (First Quarter 2011)
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric hybrid
Chief executive	Sandy Draggoo
Web site	cata.org

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 (MSU).

CATA system

CATA operates both bus transit and paratransit service across a 559-square-mile (1,450 km²) area throughout metro Lansing including Michigan State University. CATA logged a record 11,821,761 riders in fiscal year 2011. This gives CATA the second highest ridership of Michigan's transit systems.

CATA has approximately 300 employees. It does not operate on these seven major holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Easter
• Memorial Day
• Fourth of July
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

In 2009, 52% of CATA's operating revenue came from local sources, another 26% from state sources, and 22% came from fares and additional sources.

Bus service

A 40-foot (12 m) hybrid electric CATA bus, New Flyer DE40LFR.

Referred to as "fixed route service", CATA's standard bus service operates on over 30 routes with both rigid 40 ft (12 m) and articulated 60 ft (18 m) 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 2006, CATA added the first three hybrid electric buses to its fleet (New Flyer DE40LFR); making CATA the first company in Michigan to operate hybrid buses. Since then it has continued to purchase more, including articulated hybrid models.

Fixed route buses use a GPS-based system manufactured by Luminator USA that periodically plays a voice-recording of the bus's location over the loudspeakers. This is particularly useful to the visually impaired 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 30–36, Lot Link and Night Owl. Other routes (routes 1, 25 and 26) are partially Spartan Service, that is, they run more frequently and/or longer into the night during the semesters.

CATA significantly altered its intra-campus (routes 30–39) Spartan Service bus routes serving Michigan State University beginning Fall 2009. Changes include Routes 30-32 having extended weeknight hours, Routes 34-36 having service only on the Weekends, and the creation of Route 39, linking University Village and Spartan Village to the main campus. As a result, both Routes 31 & 32 saw route changes as well.

Paratransit

A CATA paratransit bus in Old Town Lansing.

CATA operates several paratransit services using small buses and mini vans. One service, Spec-Tran, is offered to persons with disabilities who are unable to use fixed route service. The "Night Owl", offers rides across the MSU campus every night from 2 am to 7 am (9 am on weekends) in order to give students a safer way to traverse campus at these hours.

Michigan/Grand River Avenue Transporation Study

CATA partnered with metropolitan municipalities beginning in the summer of 2009 to study and evaluate transit improvements to Route 1, which runs from downtown Lansing to the Meridian Mall. Improvements being evaluated include enhancing the existing bus system, adding bike lanes, improving intersections, or upgrading the existing route from a bus line to a bus rapid transit line, light rail, or a modern streetcar line. The CATA Board of Directors formally adopted bus rapid transit as the locally preferred alternative for the corridor on February 16, 2011. This authorized the transit to submit an application to be part of the Federal Transit Administration Small Starts program, which would provide substantial funding for the capital costs of construction this line.

Fixed routes

Route categories

• Routes 1–19 are Lansing-area routes
• Routes 20–26 are east-area routes (East Lansing, Okemos, Haslett)
• Routes 30–36, & 39 are MSU-area routes and all are entirely Spartan Service (i.e. they only run during MSU fall and spring semesters and are marked "Entire route" under the "Spartan Service" column)
• Routes 46 & 48 are limited stop commuter routes
• "(Limited)" indicates that the route only stops at certain points
• "(Trolley)" indicates that the route is run using trolley-style buses. Bicycles cannot be brought on this route.
• All CATA bus routes are wheelchair accessible .

Route Name	Starting Point	Terminus	Operates	Spartan Service	Direction
#1 Downtown Lansing – Meridian Mall	CATA Transportation Center	Meridian Mall	Daily	Extended weekend night hours	Bi-Directional
#1 Limited Downtown Lansing – Meridian Mall	CATA Transportation Center	Meridian Mall	Daily (3 Trips In Morning & Evening)	No	Bi-Directional
#2 South Washington – Pleasant Grove	CATA Transportation Center	Sheffield & Bayview	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#3 Willow – Lansing Mall	CATA Transportation Center	Lansing Mall	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#4 Entertainment Express (Limited) (Trolley)	Washington & Washtenaw	Albert & MAC	Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights	No	Bi-Directional
#5 South Cedar – Edgewood	CATA Transportation Center	South Pennsylvania	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#6 Cedar – Jolly Connection	CATA Administrative Offices	Jolly Cedar Plaza (Social Security Administration on request)	Weekdays	No	Bi-Directional
#7 Aurelius	CATA Transportation Center	Beau Jardin & Dunckel	Weekdays	No	Bi-Directional
#8 Pennsylvania–Holt	CATA Transportation Center	Davlind & Aurelius	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#9 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. – Miller	CATA Transportation Center	South Pennsylvania	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#10 North Lansing – Turner	CATA Transportation Center	Thomas & Hall	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#11 Waverly – Colonial Village	CATA Transportation Center	Deerfield & Holmes	Weekdays	No	Bi-Directional
#12 West Michigan – Waverly	CATA Transportation Center	Value City Plaza	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#13 Groesbeck Area	CATA Transportation Center	Lake Lansing	Weekdays	No	Bi-Directional
#14 North Grand River – Airport	CATA Transportation Center	Grand River & Waverly	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#15 Kalamazoo–Frandor	CATA Transportation Center	Lake Lansing	Weekdays	No	Bi-Directional
#16 W. Lake Lansing Road – Eastwood Towne Center	CATA Transportation Center	Lake Lansing	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#19 Delhi Loop	Holt High School	Willoughby & Cedar	Weekday Rush Hours	No	AM: Clockwise Loop PM: Counterclockwise Loop
#20 South Harrison – Jolly-Dunckel	Shaw & Farm Boarding Area	Beau Jardin & Dunckel	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#22 MSU – Haslett – Meridian Mall	Shaw & Farm Boarding Area	Meridian Mall	Monday thru Saturday	No	Bi-Directional
#23 MSU – Okemos – Meridian Mall	Shaw & Farm Boarding Area	Meridian Mall	Monday thru Saturday	No	Bi-Directional
#24 East Lansing – Lake Lansing Road	Wharton Center (Bogue Street)	Lake Lansing	Daily	No	Bi-Directional
#25 North Harrison	Wharton Center (Bogue Street)	Lake Lansing	Daily	Weekdays: Runs more frequently Weekends: No	Bi-Directional
#26 Abbott–Chandler	MSU-CTC/Ramp 1	Crossing Place	Daily	Weekdays: Runs more frequently & extended night hours Saturday: Extended night hours Sunday: No	Bi-Directional
#26 Late Night Abbott – Chandler Late Night	Crossing Place	Albert & MAC	Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Nights	Entire route	Bi-Directional
#30 Wilson–Akers	Matilda Wilson Hall	Forrest Akers Hall	Weekdays & Weeknights	Entire route	Bi-Directional
#31 Brody–Hubbard	Brody Dormitory	Bela Hubbard Hall	Weekdays & Weeknights	Entire route	Bi-Directional
#32 Commuter Lot 89	MSU-CTC/Ramp 1	Commuter Lot 89	Daily	Entire route	Bi-Directional
#33 Campus Cruiser	Lynne Holden Hall	MSU Union	Weekdays	Entire route	Counterclockwise Loop
#34 Brody – University Village	MSU-CTC/Ramp 1	Brody Dormitory	Weekends	Entire route	Counterclockwise Loop
#35 Spartan Village – Commuter Lot 89	MSU-CTC/Ramp 1	Commuter Lot 89	Weekends	Entire route	Bi-Directional
#36 Akers–Hubbard	MSU-CTC/Ramp 1	Bela Hubbard Hall	Weekends	Entire route	Counterclockwise Loop
#39 University Village – Spartan Village	Shaw & Farm Boarding Area	Spartan Village	Weekdays & Weeknights	Entire route	Bi-Directional
#46 Mason (Limited)	CATA Transportation Center	Cedar & Kerns	Weekday Rush Hours	No	Peak Direction
#48 Williamston–Webberville (Limited)	CATA Transportation Center	M-52 & I-96	Weekday Rush Hours	No	Peak Direction

Fares

CATA offers a variety of payment methods and fares.

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 and valid up to two hours. Transfer may not be used to make a return trip.

• Seniors, disabled, all Medicare card holders, and students: $0.60
• Children under 42 inches (110 cm) tall: Free
• All others: $1.25, except in Zone 2 of Rte. #3, which is $2.50 for those boarding in areas between Saginaw Rd. & Waverly Rd. and the Lansing Mall.

CATACash cards are issued through the farebox as change during cash transactions.

Tokens and passes

Riders may use one CATA token for a one-way trip; again, transfers to another route are free. Tokens may be purchased for $1.25 each or in sets of 10 for $10.00 at various retail outlets around the area. They cannot be purchased on board buses.

Various bus 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 or online at CATA's website. There are also passes for paratransit services such as CATA Rural Service and Spec-Tran.

• 10-Ride Pass: $10.00 ($6.00 for seniors, disabled, Medicare card holders, and students)
• 31-Day Pass (unlimited rides for 31 days): $35.00 ($18.00 for seniors, disabled, Medicare card holders, and students)
• Student Semester Pass (unlimited rides for one semester, for students only): $50.00
• MSU Commuter Lot Pass (unlimited rides on Route 32 only): $20.00 for one semester, $33.00 for two semesters

Bicycles on CATA

Bicycle racks are installed on the front of all CATA buses, except the trolley-style busses. Each bus can accommodate up to two bicycles. Non-safety bicycles, such as recumbents and tandems, are not allowed.

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

Governance

CATA is governed by a board of directors:

• Four members representing the City of Lansing:
  • Pete Kuhnmuench (Vice-chair)
  • R. John Strolle
  • Robert W. Swanson
  • Anne Wilson
• Two members representing the City of East Lansing:
  • Ralph Monsma
  • Nathan Triplett
• Two members representing Meridian Township:
  • Patricia Munshaw (Board chair)
  • Pat Cannon
• One member representing Lansing Township:
  • Joseph Sambaer (Secretary-Treasurer)
• One member representing Delhi Township:
  • Walter Dell
• One non-voting member representing Ingham County:
  • Mark Grebner
• One non-voting member representing Michigan State University:
  • Michael A. Rice

Awards

CATA won APTA's America's Best Transit System award for 1991 in the medium-size category, and again for 2007 in the 4–30 million annual passenger trips category. This award is given to systems with great efficiency and cost-effectiveness, a high safety rating, and a stable operations base, among other criteria.

In 2003, Sandy Draggoo, CATA's executive director, received the APTA Outstanding Public Transportation Manager in North America award.

In 2008, CATA was recognized by Metro Magazine as one of the Ten Best Places to Work in Transit. The article chronicled CATA's family-like culture, recognition of hard work, extreme efficiency, the Open-door policy of the executive office, and the pride CATA's workers mentioned in their employee surveys.

Current Bus fleet

Series	Model	Delivery	Length	Width	Total
300–343	GM Rapid Transit Series	?	40'	102"	44*
500–571	New Flyer D40LF	?	40'	102"	72
572–585	New Flyer DE40LFR	2006-2010	40'	102"	14
6000–6003	New Flyer DE60LF	2003	60'	102"	4
6004–6006	New Flyer D60LF	2005-2006	60'	102"	3
6007–6011	New Flyer DE60LFR	2007-2009	60'	102"	5

* - some retired

References

• 2006 CATA Community Report
• Lansing State Journal: CATA logs 10 million riders over year
• Lansing State Journal: 'Little ol' farm girl' wins transit award
• Archive.org repository of CATA website since 1996

External links

• Capital Area Transportation Authority - official Web site