Capital Area Transportation Authority

The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) is the public transit authority that operates mass transit bus service and paratransit within the metro Lansing, Michigan area, including service on the campus of Michigan State University. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

CATA system

CATA operates scheduled fixed-route large-bus and paratransit services across a area throughout Ingham County and portions of Eaton and Clinton counties. CATA's service region includes Michigan State University. In fiscal 2019, CATA logged 11,049,317 rides – an increase of 6.4 percent over the previous fiscal year.

CATA has approximately 340 employees, of which nearly 224 are bus operators. It does not operate on these seven major holidays: New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In 2016, 46% of CATA's operating revenue came from local sources, another 30% from state sources, and 24% came from fares and additional sources.

Bus Service

Referred to as "fixed route service", CATA's standard bus service operates on over 30 routes with both rigid and articulated buses. CATA's fleet consists of low floor buses manufactured by New Flyer. 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 and 39, ''Lot Link'' and ''Night Owl''. Other routes (routes 1, 23, 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 & 31 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. Since August 25, 2014, Route 31 no longer changes into Route 30 at East Neighborhood, and vice versa.

CATAnow

Starting August 2014, a program called CATAnow has been created to provide immediate departure times at any of the bus stops. Passengers can use either their mobile devices or their computers by entering the bus stop number and the optional route number(s), and they will receive the departure times in seconds. It is also free to use this service.

Paratransit

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 Transportation 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. The proposal was moved to the FTA's project development phase in April 2013, which includes getting funding for an environmental review and design and engineering activities. Citing a potential lack of federal funding for the project from the Trump administration, the authority's board voted in April 2017 to suspend the project until federal funding could be committed to the project.

Fixed routes (as of September 2014)

;Route categories:
* Routes 1–16 are Lansing-area routes.
* Routes 20–26 are east-area routes (East Lansing, Okemos, Haslett). However, there is no Route 21.
* Routes 30–36, and 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 and 48 are limited stop commuter routes. Route 41 was a limited stop commuter route, but is now discontinued.
* "''(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 .

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; stopovers on issuing line is allowed. All routes are one zone fares.

*Seniors, disabled, all Medicare card holders, and students: $0.60
*Children under tall: Free if accompanied by fare-paying rider. Limit is 3.
*All others: $1.25

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, good for 120 minutes, are free; round-trips prohibited; stopovers allowed on issuing line only. Tokens may be purchased for $1.25 each or in sets of 10 for $10 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 ($6 for seniors, disabled, Medicare card holders, and students)
*31-Day Pass (unlimited rides for 31 days): $35 ($18 for seniors, disabled, Medicare card holders, and students)
*Student Semester Pass (unlimited rides for one semester, for students only): $50
*MSU Commuter Lot Pass (unlimited rides on Route 32 only): $20 for one semester, $33 for two semesters

Bicycles on CATA

Bicycle racks are installed on the front of all CATA buses, except the trolley-style buses. Each bus can accommodate up to three 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:
**Nathan Triplett (Chair)
**Derek Melot
**Dusty Fancher (Vice Chair)
**Jennie Gies
*Two members representing the City of East Lansing:
**Shanna Draheim
**Jack Schmitt
*Two members representing Meridian Township:
**Phil Deschaine
**Robin Lewis
*One member representing Lansing Township:
**Diontrea Hayes
*One member representing Delhi Township:
**Douglas Lecato
*One member representing Ingham County:
**Mark Grebner
*One member representing Michigan State University:
**John Prush

Industry Memberships

CATA is a member in good standing of the American Public Transportation Association and the Michigan Public Transportation Association, working collaboratively within the region, throughout the state and at the federal level to advance public transportation.

Current Bus fleet

Current Reports and News Links

This content is outdated and is currently in the process of being updated by CATA Management.

External links

Capital Area Transportation Authority
– official website
Capital Area Transportation Authority on Facebook
– official Facebook account
Capital Area Transportation Authority on Twitter
– official Twitter account

{{Michigan public transit

Bus transportation in Michigan
Paratransit services in the United States
Transportation in Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan