Cars parked in a parking lot
Aug 22

Transportation Services announces fall 2024 service updates

UNIVERSITY PARK. Pa -- Transportation Services has announced service changes for the fall 2024 semester.

New Daily Parking Reservations Program

A new reduced-cost daily parking program is available to full-time faculty and staff and students at select lots. Faculty and staff can currently purchase daily parking reservations for $4.35 per day at the following campus parking areas:

Beginning Monday, Aug. 26, faculty, staff, and students will also be able to reserve daily parking for the Yellow H lots east of Shields Building and north of the Nittany Lion Softball Park, and all Orange lots at Innovation Park. Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 3, daily reservations will also be available at Eisenhower Deck for faculty, staff, and students.

The new parking option offers an alternative to a monthly parking permit for remote and hybrid employees by using available space in the parking areas already overallocated for permits but consistently have unused parking spaces. The program also aims to relieve strain on the gated parking decks across campus during weekday daytime hours by redistributing some of the parking at those facilities to other areas.

Visit the Daily Parking Reservations website for more information and to make a reservation.

HONK to Launch as New Visitor Parking Payment Option

Over the first few weeks of the fall semester, HONK will replace ParkMobile as the digital payment provider for visitor parking at select campus parking areas. HONK offers reduced transaction fees and a range of payment options, including:

  • HONK App, which can be downloaded on iOS or Google Play for a personalized payment experience
  • Tap to Pay, which works by scanning a QR code on parking signage for instant payment, no account or registration required
  • Text to Pay, where a text of the location code to the number provided enables instant payment via SMS

ParkMobile will remain available for hourly parking at select areas for the next few months and will continue to serve as the prepayment platform for campuswide events, including the Bryce Jordan Center, Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Center for the Performing Arts.

Visit the Transportation Services website for a full list of visitor parking areas available through HONK.

See Real-Time Parking Deck Availability with Mistall

Real-time parking availability for the East, HUB, Nittany, and West decks can now be viewed at any time through Mistall. The site uses a scale to rate availability, with Good indicating plenty of available parking, Fair indicating a low availability of parking, and Poor indicating no available parking.

Please note that the capacity levels do not apply to assigned permit holders at these facilities, as the decks are closed to visitors at capacity levels that ensure that permit holders will still be able to park.

Campus Transit Changes

With CATA’s return to its full-service schedule on Thursday, Aug. 22, several service changes have been implemented to campus service:

  • The Red Link will now end service at 9:30 p.m.
  • The Blue Loop will improve its frequency on Friday and Saturday evenings.
  • Late-night service (12-2:30 a.m.) on Thursdays will be discontinued.

For more information regarding CATA’s campus and community service changes, visit CATA Fall 2024 Service (arcgis.com).

The Campus Shuttle via College Avenue will continue to provide service from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, while the Campus Shuttle via Beaver Avenue will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, including service to Mount Nittany Medical Center and Innovation Park. Visit the Transportation Services website for a full schedule.

Curtin Road detour impacts

Curtin Road from Commuter Drive to Porter Road will be closed through Friday, Aug. 30. The following detours are in effect for the CATA routes listed:

  • Blue Loop - Buses will turn left on University Drive from Curtin Road, right on Park Avenue, and right on Porter Road where normal routing will resume.
  • Red Link – Buses will turn left onto University Drive from Curtin Road, right on Park Avenue, right on Porter Road, right on Dauer Drive, right on Commuter Road, and left on Curtin Road where normal routing will resume.
  • H Route - Buses heading inbound from Porter Road will turn right on Dauer Drive, right on Commuter Drive, and left on Curtin Road where normal routing will resume. Buses heading outbound from Curtin Road will turn right on Commuter Drive, left on Dauer Drive, and left on Porter Road where normal routing will resume.
  • HU Route – Buses heading inbound from Porter Road will turn right on Dauer Drive, right on Commuter Drive, and right on Porter Road where normal routing will resume. Buses heading outbound from Curtin Road will turn right on Commuter Drive, left on Dauer Drive, and left on Porter Road where normal routing will resume.
  • NV Route - Buses will turn right on Dauer Drive from Porter Road, right on Commuter Drive, and left on Curtin Road where normal routing will resume.

Lyft Programs

Transportation Services offers two different Lyft programs for students and employees.

RideSmart is available for students and offers eight $10 ride credits every month to get from downtown back onto campus. This program is available from 2 – 7 a.m. during the fall and spring semesters.

The Innovation Park/Mount Nittany Medical Center program is available for students and full-time faculty and staff and offers twenty $20 ride credits every month. This program is available from 6:30 p.m. and 1 a.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays year-round.

Eligible students, faculty, and staff will receive emails from Lyft at the start of the fall semester with offers to sign up for these programs.

RideOn ride-matching program

RideOn is a free ride-matching platform available exclusively to Penn State faculty, staff, and students where users can find ride matches for daily carpooling and one-time trips, such as weekends, holidays, or when their regular form of transportation is not available.

Drivers can earn money to cover travel expenses like gas and toll fees by filling extra seats in their vehicles while helping fellow Penn Staters in need of a ride.

To get started: 

  • Download the Penn State RideOn mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or visit rideon.psu.edu.
  • Use your Penn State credentials to sign in. 
  • Create a Trip Profile from the side menu. 
  • From the dashboard, post a carpool, search for ride options, or log your commute. 

If there are any questions, please email [email protected] or call 865-1436.