10 Questions We All Want To Ask About The Penn State University Transportation Situation

Penn Staters love their bus system. How could we not when we have to trek across 23 miles of sidewalk just to get to classes? Or when you wake up to a sunny day and pull on a pair of ripped jeans but by the afternoon it’s snowing and you have to make it back to your dorm? However, as much as we adore our CATA buses for allowing us to be the laziest college students around, there are definitely some questions we all have for the Penn State University transportation situation:

1. Why do you have those seats in the front folded up when I could easily be sitting in one of them?

If there are twenty people standing in the aisle, wouldn’t it just make sense to put the seats down?It’s so frustrating to see perfectly good seats being unused.

2. Why do you come so inconsistently?

We wait for twenty minutes for a Blue Loop to make it to Pattee Library, only for another one to pull in as you’re boarding? Why not space yourselves out???

3. Why do you not give change?

$1.75 is a pretty reasonable bus fare since you’re willing to take me anywhere but do you know how often I carry exactly seven quarters around? Never. I never carry seven quarters around.

4. Why is holding onto one of those rubber loops while standing on a overfilled White Loop the best workout I’ve gotten all semester?

Forget Power Remix or Butts and Guts class. I’ll just ride the W-loop around campus a few times and get abs of steel trying to keep my balance. It doubles as arm day if you consistently switch which hand you hold with.

5. Where are the drivers going when they mysteriously leave the bus for 10 minutes at any stop they want?

Are they going to the bathroom? A secret meeting? Paying their bursar statement off in Shields? Also, why does nobody seem phased when the driver disappears?

6. Why are there people on the buses that claim to be “Out of Service?”

Clearly you are servicing somebody. Why can you not service me and my tired feet home after class?

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7. Why are the stops not actually in front of the important buildings?

If I get off at the Pattee Library stop, I want to be delivered straight to the front doors, not half a block down the street. What’s the point in riding the bus if I still have to walk half of the way?

8. Why is there not a campus loop to frat land?

Nobody wants to walk in heels up the hill next to the Dorito Church. Nobody wants to spend $20 on an Uber. There’s definitely a demand for a bus to go that route Thursday night through Sunday morning.

9. Why have you not been updated since the 1970s?

The carpeting on the seats matches what I would assume many carpets looked like in the 70s. I’m all for recycling but let’s get a little more modern, please.

10. Why am I still hopelessly devoted to you?

Even with all of your flaws, I still insist on bringing up the CATA app and tracking the nearest bus as I leave my dorm. While your stops are inconvenient and crowded, I will still take the Blue Loop from the Forum to East Halls without batting an eye. Every time a Red Link pulls in next to me as I pass a stop, so I can ride rather than walk, a feeling of joy washes over me. Penn State would not be Penn State without it’s CATA buses. We love you CATA and Penn State University transportation.