CATA Bus - www.catabus.com

Your options for transportation to the State College Guitar Lessons studio include public transportation by the Centre Area Transportation Authority, more commonly known as CATA, or CATA Centre Line buses.

CATA, providers of the [Campus] Loop, are the primary public transportation option for State College, PA. At the time of writing, the bus fare is only $2.50 round-trip (or $1.25 one-way), and every area from Bellefonte to Boalsburg to Park Forest (North of State College) is covered.

Ridin' the Bus:
  a How-to for You

If you take a few minutes to calculate when and where you need to be in order to catch the appropriate route for your area, a CATA bus trip should be quick and convenient for you.

CATA bus routes are organized by letter. Sometimes the letter correpsonds to the name of a main street of the route, but it's best to consult the Ride Guide for up-to-date, accurate route information. People who require transportation from Downtown State College to the North Side, to areas such as Valley Vista, and Park Forest should use the W-Route service.

[ Click Here to Open Extended Info.]

Route Map: W - VALLEY VISTA

Route W includes a stop which is less than a block away from the State College Guitar Lessons studio. If you require public transportation, this ride is quite convenient. There's a numbered stop within ½ block of State College Guitar Lessons!

Tips for Reading a CATA Route Map:

Recommendation:
Whether you are familiar with CATA schedules, or your have never ridden the bus before, please take a moment first to review the map shown below. The map below is an altered version of the CATA Route-W map, designed to illustrate specifically which bus stops are near the Guitar Lessons, so you can better determine what time you need to be at your own stop.

Please take note that there are stops on either side of the street†. One side is meant to indicate a South-to-North, or Outgoing trip [Outgoing from Downtown, that is, to Wal-mart, for example] , while the opposite will help you to determine times for going the opposite direction, that is, catching the bus to travel from Guitar Lessons to Downtown.

†External Links from the Map:

Hover your mouse over the †dots which appear on either side of the route. Your mouse-pointer should change from an arrow to a pointing-finger. When the finger is pointing to a stop, click the mouse and a timetable should open in a new window. The information which appears on that timetable will indicate the various times throughout the day when the bus is expected to pass that particular location.

For those stops which are not primary numbered stops (such as the stop near the Guitar Lessons), please pay particular attention to whether you are reading the information for a South-to-North trip, or a North-to-South trip. It is very important that you make the distinction between Outbound and Inbound trips in order to determine at what time the bus will arrive at your desired location.

CATA provides a General Timetable for the W-Route, however, it indicates only the times for Primary Numbered stops. If your ride will begin one of the numbered locations (such as #4 and #6, as recommended for reference, or #2 at College and Allen), then it makes sense to use the General Timetable for the W-Route. If you need to catch the bus from a secondary stop (where the dots are shown at either side of the street, along the length of the route), then you may find it best to calculate a time by clicking on the dot near the secondary stop, and judging that time against the time of the nearest Primary Numbered location.

Click on any one of the bus stops shown on the schedule map below and you can then view and/or print (in Acrobat Reader) an exact duplicate of the information holder sign that is located at that stop which shows the approximate arrival time for the W Route at that stop along with any other routes that serve that stop.

Other Important Info

Please note, as of Spring of 2008, the information listed here is accurate, however the actual CATA routes, as well as scheduled pick-up times are typically altered during the Summer for better accommodating the change in population, as generally proportional to the Penn State University Academic Semester Calendar.

The CATA version of the W-Route map offers additional information for existing bus patrons who would be affected when the route was modified in 2007. The official notice of changes applied to the W-Route (as of Fall 2007) are available on the CATA Website.

Need Help?

If you have any questions at all regarding CATA transportation, please consult the CATA Web Site for the most up-to-date information, phone numbers for assistance, and other useful information on the Centre Region.