Green Meadville
“Small, but mighty” is a good description of CATA, the public transportation system serving Meadville, Oil City, and Franklin. Well-functioning public transport is important for our communities and the environment because it keeps people mobile without relying on cars. CATA is doing that with its regular and on-demand bus routes as well as with its bikeshare program.
CATA also operates buses with natural gas and propane. While natural gas is not a zero-emissions fuel, it burns with fewer emissions and pollutants than traditional gasoline. CATA plans to up its alternative fuels to 80% by 2030. In addition, CATA operates a LEED-certified, energy efficient headquarter, filters and reclaims the water it uses to wash its fleet in Oil City, and plans to install public EV chargers in its Meadville location.
These and other initiatives are part of CATA’s climate action plan, which was completed in 2022 and is open for anyone to inspect on CATA’s website. The driving force (pun intended) behind that is CATA director Tim Geibel who wants to make our local transportation system a model for other rural providers. Tim and his team are hard at work to serve Crawford and Venango County with a system that does more than bringing people from A to B: it also takes important steps towards the future of environmentally-conscious public transport.
If you want to learn more, visit CATA’s website at https://www.catabus.org/ or contact Tim Geibel at tgeibel@catabus.org .