The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) is the public transit operator serving the Lansing, Michigan area, including service on the campus of Michigan State University. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 8,082,200.[2]: 23
CATA began service in 1972.[3] Its predecessor, Lansing Metro Lines, was privately owned and operated under a franchise from the city of Lansing. Poor ridership and increasing costs prompted a city buyout of Metro Lines in 1970, creating uncertainty about the future of bus service in the Lansing area.[4] CATA was organized as a regional authority in 1971.[5] By the end of its first year of service in 1972, the newly formed CATA had provided over 700,000 rides.[6]
CATA was the first transit system in the United States to operate electric buses, with the assistance of a grant from the Model Cities Program. Six electric buses entered service in May 1973, operating a loop through Downtown Lansing and the State Capitol at no charge. The electric buses were built by the Battronic Truck Company of Boyertown, Pennsylvania. The $136,000 (equivalent to $933,000 in 2023) purchase price of the buses was largely funded by the federal government.[7] CATA's electric buses were plagued by mechanical problems, and ridership declined after CATA began charging fares on the formerly free service.[8] The electric buses were withdrawn in September 1974, and were sold to an industrial parts supplier in Flint at a substantial discount.[9]
In 1999, Michigan State University discontinued its bus services, and CATA took over operations of bus service on campus. Fares were initially charged for these routes, before a 2019 pilot program led to a permanent removal of fares.[10]
CATA is a two-time winner of the APTA Outstanding Public Transportation System Award, in 1991 and 2007. This award recognizes CATA's excellence in customer service, safety, and management.[11][12]
In 2006, CATA became the first transit agency in Michigan to operate diesel-electric hybrid buses.[3] The system continued to exclusively buy hybrid buses through 2016, before returning to conventional diesel in 2019 as the first Michigan operator of the Nova Bus LFS.[13][14]
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.[citation needed]
In August 2014, CATA introduced the CATAnow system to provide real-time bus departure information. Further developments in CATA's real-time bus tracking systems include a partnership with Transit App beginning in 2017.[15]
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.[16] The CATA Board of Directors formally adopted bus rapid transit as the locally preferred alternative for the corridor on February 16, 2011.[citation needed] 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.[17] 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.[18]
CATA operates scheduled fixed-route bus and paratransit services across a 559-square-mile (1,450 km2) area throughout Ingham County and portions of Eaton and Clinton counties.[3]
CATA has approximately 340 employees, of whom nearly 224 are bus operators.[19] 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.[20] In fiscal 2019, CATA logged 11,049,317 rides – an increase of 6.4 percent over the previous fiscal year.[19]
CATA operates 32 bus routes with both rigid 40 ft (12 m) and articulated 60 ft (18 m) buses. The system's main hub is the CATA Transportation Center (CTC) in downtown Lansing, with a satellite hub, the MSU-CATA Transportation Center (MSU-CTC), at Michigan State University. CATA also operates the Capital Area Multimodal Gateway, the region's Amtrak station.
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.
Effective May 2023.[21]
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.
CATA offers a variety of payment methods and fares.
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.
CATACash cards are issued through the farebox as change during cash transactions.
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.
CATA is governed by a board of directors:
Current fixed-route fleet[21]
