TCAT’S New Routes Effective Jan. 17

January 12th, 2010

 Effective Sunday, Jan. 17, TCAT's new Transportation Development Plan will offer more trips in high-demand areas, shorten waiting times and offer more "one-seat" rides to eliminate riders' inconvenience of transferring buses.

 "TCAT continues to build on its legacy of being one of the most progressive in the country for a transit service system its size," said Joe Turcotte, TCAT general manager. "The new route system is another testament to TCAT's philosophy that puts our customers first."

 TCAT operates 34 routes with its 50-plus buses, operating 360 days per year and 22 hours each day. All but seven routes (37, 52, 53, 65, 67, 81 and 83) were updated.

 New route changes are posted on www.tcatbus.com and bright yellow schedules continue to be distributed at bus shelters and pass outlets. They have been printed on yellow paper so that passengers can distinguish them from the soon-to-be outdated white schedules.

 Some key changes include:

--Route 13 extended to the Shops at Ithaca Mall.

--Seven-day-a-week service to the airport

--Six routes that are "interlined" or linked to form one-seat rides. This means the bus changes its route sign and passengers just stay on the bus with no need to get off to transfer. One-seat rides include: routes 11 and 30 to the mall via Cornell; routes 13 and 31 from the Falls Creek area to Cornell; and routes 15 and 32 (or 72 weekends) from Cornell to Southside shopping with such popular destinations as Wegmans, Tops and Wal-Mart.

--Later service to the West Hills area and to the hospital (Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca).

--A reservation-only route 41 demand-and-response service in the Etna Road and Sapsucker Woods Road area to transport passengers not served by a fixed-route bus line. Passengers there will receive more individualized, on-demand, curb-side service. Because of this flexibility, the demand-and-response service is capable of covering larger areas of lower density than a fixed-route bus.

TCAT's vision is to expand demand-and-response service in the future based on the experience TCAT staff glean with this first-ever type of service, said Nancy Oltz, TCAT's service development manager.

 Both Oltz and Nicole Tedesco, TCAT's service and operations analyst, headed the project, which TCAT staff kicked off in February of 2008. TCAT contracted with Perteet Inc., an Everett, WA-based consulting firm made up of engineers, planners and surveyors. Planning included extensive field work with TCAT staff riding the bus and numerous public hearings attended by 200 people. In addition, more than 600 people sent in written suggestions    

 "It was a very comprehensive public process," Oltz said. "I want to thank all of the public for their participation in the project so we could create a service based on what people really want."

 Said Oltz: "It was especially great to spend time with our riders."

 TCAT staff will be on hand at TCAT's new Green Street Station, next to Tompkins County Public Library, to answer questions from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays through Friday Jan. 22. (TCAT staff will be there on Saturday, Jan. 16, and Sunday Jan. 17 from noon to 3 p.m.)

In addition to the new route changes, TCAT on Sunday, Jan. 17 is also upgrading to a next-generation fare collections system featuring the Tcard, a durable plastic pass similar to a debit card. The new Tcard comes with discounts and will be rechargeable online by March 1. Passengers by March 1 will also be able to check their balances online and on the bus.

 Anyone who has leftover paper passes can trade them in for a new Tcard during those staffing hours through Friday, Jan. 22 at the Green Street Station, part of which is subleased by gimme! coffee to create a café-like experience.

 No purchase is required for TCAT passengers to wait in comfort at the new station, which is a one-of-a-kind passenger amenity for a public transit system the size of TCAT.

 TCAT, Inc (Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc.) is a not-for-profit corporation that provides public transportation for Tompkins County and portions of Tioga and Schuyler counties.  TCAT transports more than 3.3 million passengers every year covering a distance of more than 1.6 million miles. The fleet of approximately 50 buses currently includes 6 hybrid electric-diesel buses.  TCAT also offers complementary ADA Paratransit services called Gadabout.  For more information about TCAT, please visit www.tcatbus.com or call (607) 277-RIDE.