Allegheny students are going places — and on Thursdays, that list of places now includes the 17 stops serviced by The Loop, a Crawford Area Transportation Authority bus route that relaunched earlier this semester after a years-long hiatus originally instigated by the service’s bumpy road through the COVID-19 pandemic.
CATA Assistant Manager of Operations Jamie Hartman stated that CATA and Allegheny convened recently to work out the revamped service’s logistical details.
“That process began when we started talks with Allegheny in regards to bringing the service back, in the interest of wanting to ramp back up and doing this again, and I think that process took place about several months ago,” Hartman said in a phone interview.
Together, the two entities identified a schedule that offered a balance of utility and ease.
“It’s easier on Thursdays because I think there’s a lot less programs running on that day.” Hartman said. “So it gives students a chance to break away and go downtown and do some things that they may need to do.”
As one of numerous students without a car on campus, Eric Snider, ’27, liked the idea of free bus transportation.
“As a student that doesn’t have a car on campus, I would find that very helpful to go pick up supplies at Walmart,” Snider said. “Yeah, I think that works perfectly for me at least, and I think most students, it’s better it’s not a weekend cause I think a lot of students are busy on weekends and Thursday works perfectly for me.”
His views were shared by Jeremy Zengzhoujiacuo, ’27.
“I think that it’s a good idea to have it back, since it would benefit a lot of people who don’t have a car but who want to go to Walmart and downtown,” Zengzhoujiacuo said. “My classes, they end around afternoon, so it would be a good idea to take a bus from around 4 p.m., it would take me back in the night, so I think it’s a good idea.”
Students and faculty can ride the bus for free if they present a valid Allegheny College ID card, as can Pennsylvania Senior Transit Pass holders aged 65 and older, according to the Meadville Tribune. Members of the public will be charged a $2 fare for a one-way trip.
According to the CATA website, one full orbit around The Loop takes an hour to complete. Service runs uninterrupted from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and then completes one final lap between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. The bus makes two stops on campus — one by Baldwin Hall on North Main Street and another at the corner of North Main and Loomis — at the top of each hour. From there, riders rumble past major destinations like Diamond Park, the Academy Theater, the Downtown Mall, Giant Eagle, Walmart, The Movies at Meadville and the Post Office. Upon returning to campus, the bus makes a stop outside Brooks Hall at ten minutes till the next full hour and then continues on to restart the cycle outside Baldwin Hall. Live updates on the bus’ location will be available on the mobile app myStop.
“Whether you’re planning a shopping spree, catching the latest blockbuster, or enjoying a night out at many of the city’s restaurants and taverns, this new service is designed to make your Thursday evenings more enjoyable and stress-free,” CATA said in a Jan. 22 press release.
This is not the first time that The Loop has reinvented its wheels, according to a 2022 Campus article about The Loop’s history. If transported back to 1999, students would find a brand-new college-run shuttle service bearing the same name, although it originally shared more in common with today’s Gator Express. In this earliest form, other students sat behind the wheel and ferried their peers back and forth between Meadville’s downtown businesses. CATA took on the job the following year, and ran buses on a twice-weekly schedule for the next two decades. The 2020 pandemic stalled The Loop’s operations from March till October, but subsequent attempts to jump start its return between 2020 and 2022 were met with low ridership counts, driver shortages and allegations of unfair contracts.
Hartman indicated that The Loop’s current iteration only requires a handful of weekly riders to demonstrate the program’s success.
“I think if we see a good count, roughly around 20 students — 15 or 20 students — would be great to see,” Hartman said. “That would be awesome to see those kind of counts to make it really worthwhile running it.”
Although the bus service is operated on a seasonal basis roughly corresponding to Allegheny’s academic calendar, students staying on campus during shorter breaks can expect regular service. “We’re going to be running it during the semester seasons of the school year, so it’ll definitely run on some [breaks], like spring break or whatever,” Hartman said.
The Loop concludes its seasonal service on May 1, according to CATA’s press release, and buses do not operate on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.
