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Penn State - Transportation - Transportation - College ProwlerCollege Prowler5.00

Transportation

Quick Stats

Best Ways to Get Around Town
  • Bike
  • CATA Buses
  • Walk
Best Ways to Get to the Airport CATA runs a bus to the University Park airport, but the schedule is sparse. If you are on a tight schedule, the taxi is your best bet.

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Getting around campus is very easy. It might not always be timely and convenient, but the transportation system is certainly easy. CATA runs four free busses on campus, which helps students get to their classes and downtown. They run on a nice schedule but frequently get backed up when bad weather strikes or during peak class hours. For $1.25, you can take the bus to the mall and other shopping centers in the area. CATA runs special busses and shuttles to Beaver Stadium during football weekends and to Tussey Mountain in the winter for ski trips.

Getting in and out of town is not quite as easy. The nearest Amtrak station is about an hour away in Altoona. The Greyhound gets you to your destination if you are patient. Stops and layovers turn a normally three-hour drive to Pittsburgh into a five-hour drive. The University Park airport is conveniently located, but flights are pretty expensive. The lack of transportation around State College makes planning spring break and weekend getaways a little difficult.

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Penn State Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Transportation at Penn State

jhudson323

Architectural Engineering '16

3.8
B+

Buses Galore

Cata buses are very useful around campus. Some will take you off campus for a small fee of $1.50 each way. There are lots of bus stations that you can catch a multitude of buses to different places to get home (NY, Pittsburgh, Newark, DC, Philadelphia...). There is also a local airport, which is expensive. It doesn't hurt to know an upper classmen with a car on campus though- faster than the buses and doesn't cost a thing.

May 29, 2012

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Transportation at Penn State

amz5119

Registered Nursing (RN) '14

3.8
B+

Walking More Convenient

The public transportation is good at Penn State, they run constantly throughout the day but nothing is running at night which can be really inconvenient. It is usually easier to walk to get around on campus unless you live far off campus, then you have to take a bus, but even then the buses come around on all different times, and there's a big chance you'll miss it or not need it when it is coming.

May 19, 2012

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Transportation at Penn State

Toniannrosellesmith

Medicine '15

4.2
A-

Cata Bus

I would recommend taking the cata bus over a car. They have buses that will take you anywhere you need to go on campus, downtown, and to the shopping centers for free or for a low price. Its very convenient. It is never really too crowded on the buses either. They also run five to ten minutes behind one another. They only reason I gave it an A- is because the trips can sometimes be too long and you're running on the buses schedule. For example, the journey to Wal Mart will take you half an hour on the bus (ten mins on car) and then there is a bus that will pick you up a specific time every hour. One trip could take up to two or three hours.

May 14, 2012

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User rating for Penn State - Transportation is 3.5 out of 5 based on 67 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the cost of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of long-distance transportation to travel between home and school

How convenient is the campus-provided transportation?

How necessary is it to have a car on campus?

How easy is it to get around town?

Campus ShuttleWhat's This?

The White Loop

Serves campus and Beaver Avenue

The Blue Loop

Serves campus, College Avenue, and areas east of University Drive

The Red Link

Serves campus and Innovation Park

The Green Link

Serves campus and areas west of Burrowes Street

Public TransitWhat's This?

CATA buses

Nearest AirportWhat's This?

University Park Airport

The University Park airport is quite tiny, but convenient. It is located about 4 miles from campus.

2535 Fox Hill Rd.

(814) 865-5511

Bellefonte Airport

If you know how to fly (or have friends who do), there is also an airport in Bellefonte (about 8 miles away) for personal airplanes.

612 Buffalo Run Rd., Bellefonte

(814) 355-7407

Nearest Passenger BusWhat's This?

Greyhound Bus Lines

There is a bus station right on campus which offers really cheap, easy, and frequent trips to nearby cities, such as Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, DC, and NYC. Stop in for a full schedule to keep in your dorm room, if ever you need to leave State College in a hurry.

152 N. Atherton St.

(814) 238-7971

Fullington Trailways

There is a bus station right on campus which offers really cheap, easy, and frequent trips to nearby cities, such as Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, DC, and NYC. Stop in for a full schedule to keep in your dorm room, if ever you need to leave State College in a hurry.

152 N. Atherton St.

(814) 238-1100

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Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
James Bunting
Hometown
Whitehall, PA
Major
Journalism

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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