Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc., usually referred to as TCAT, is a private, non-profit public transportation operator, created by Cornell University, Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca to serve Tompkins County

Tompkins County, New York

Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and the Towns of Richford, Berkshire & Newark Valley in Tioga County

Tioga County, New York

As of the census of 2010, there were 51,125 people residing in the county, with 22,203 housing units, of these 20,350 occupied, 1,853 vacant. The population density was 98 people per square mile...

. The vast majority of TCAT bus routes are based in the City of Ithaca, New York

Ithaca, New York

The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...

 and the Ithaca urban area including routes serving Ithaca College

Ithaca College

Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...

, Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, and Tompkins Cortland Community College

Tompkins Cortland Community College

Tompkins Cortland Community College is a public two-year college supported by Cortland and Tompkins Counties. The main college campus is located in the Town of Dryden. Extension sites are located in Cortland, New York and Ithaca, New York...

.

As of 2009, TCAT operates 35 bus routes both directly and by contract with Tioga Transport, Inc. Door to door paratransit

Paratransit

Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....

 service is provided by GADABOUT Transportation Services, Inc.

History

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) was formed in 1998 by consolidating three public transit systems – Ithaca Transit (City of Ithaca), TOMTRAN (Tompkins County) and CU Transit (Cornell University) into a single system. In the 1960s the City and Cornell established independent bus systems which expanded throughout the next two decades. Service was first extended to serve Ithaca’s suburbs in the 1970s, and to rural towns beginning in 1982. In 1974, a transit service in Northeast Ithaca (Lansing, Cayuga Heights and the Town of Ithaca) was started by apartment owners contracting with Swarthout Coaches to operated limited service for Cornell students, and as the public demand for service increased, the apartment owners sought assistance from local governments and Cornell University, which became Northeast Transit in 1978.

Tompkins County became involved in supporting suburban routes and in developing rural transit service. The County formed TOMTRAN to extend fixed-route bus service to Dryden, Caroline and Newark Valley in 1982, Groton (1983), Newfield and Ulysses (1985), and Lansing and Danby (1991). In 1999, TCAT initiated bus service to Enfield, the last unserved town in the County. In 1992, the City, Cornell and County built a $5 million transit facility to base transit operations and fleet maintenance including GADABOUT. In 1996, the New York State Legislature adopted a state law that authorized TCAT to be created as a joint partnership, governmental entity, and on April 1, 1998, the City of Ithaca, Cornell University and Tompkins County established TCAT as a joint venture (public entity) to operate public transit service in Tompkins County, service began in 1999, establishing a unified route and fare system. TCAT re-organized itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, TCAT. Inc. in 2005 with representatives of City of Ithaca, Cornell University, and Tompkins County serving on its Board of Directors.

In 1976, a consortium of municipalities and human service agencies formed GADABOUT Transportation Services to address travel needs of seniors and people with disabilities and today operates the Federally mandated paratransit service for Tompkins County. Although GADABOUT did not join TCAT in 1998, the two companies are still closely related, with GADABOUT leasing space and maintenance services from TCAT.

Routes

Thirty-six bus routes comprise the TCAT system. Routes are identified by number and are usually indicated on a marquee at the front of the bus, and sometimes on the side as well. TCAT's main hub is Green Street, off of the Commons

Ithaca Commons

The Ithaca Commons is a two-block pedestrian mall in downtown Ithaca, New York, built in 1974. Its boundaries are Green Street to the south, Cayuga Street to the west, Seneca Street to the north, and Aurora Street to the east. It sits at the intersection of Tioga and State Streets...

, a two-block pedestrian mall in downtown Ithaca. Most non South Hill routes run through the Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 campus; East Avenue near Statler Hall

Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University is a specialized business school for hospitality management founded in 1922 as the first four-year intercollegiate school devoted to the field...

 is considered a secondary hub.

Downtown and West Hill

• Route 14 West Hill - Commons - Hospital
• Route 15 Commons - Titus Towers - Wegmans - Tops - Lowes - WalMart
• Route 17 Commons and/or Cornell to TCAT.
• Route 68 Southwest Shopping

East Hill, Collegetown and Cornell University Campus

• Route 10 Cornell - Commons Shuttle
• Route 13 Commons - Fall Creek - Mall
• Route 30 Commons - Shops at Ithaca Mall
• Route 31 Commons - Convenient Care
• Route 32 Commons - Airport
• Route 36 South Lansing - Commons
• Route 37 North Lansing - Commons
• Route 51 Commons - Cornell - Eastern Heights
• Route 52 Newark Valley - Commons
• Route 53 Ellis Hollow - Brooktondale
• Route 54 Cornell - Turkey Hill
• Route 70 Commons - Cornell - Mall Weekend Service
• Route 72 Commons - Cornell - Airport Weekend Service
• Route 74 Groton - Mall Weekend Service
• Route 75 TC3 - Cornell - Mall Weekend Service
• Route 77 Mall - Warren Road Weekend Service

• Route 81 A Lot to B Lot via central campus
• Route 82 Hasbrouck to East Hill Plaza via central campus
• Route 83 North Campus to West Campus via central campus
• Route 90 Commons to North Campus via C-Town and central campus
• Route 92 North Campus, West Campus, Central and Vet, C-Town and East Hill Plaza
• Route 93 North Campus, West Campus, Central, C-Town, East Hill Plaza, Snyder Hill Rd. and Slaterville Rd. via Honess Lane

Rural Routes

• Route 20 Commons - Enfield
• Route 21 Trumansburg - Commons - Cornell
• Route 40 Varna - Freeville - Groton
• Route 41 On Demand service. Cornell from Etna, Hanshaw Rd, Lower Creek, Varna
• Route 43 Cornell - Varna - TC3
• Route 44 Groton - Shops at Ithaca Mall
• Route 45 Dryden - Shops at Ithaca Mall
• Route 67 Newfield - Commons - Cornell

Fleet

TCAT operates a mix of 51 35 ft and 40 ft transit buses and three small 14-passenger buses. All TCAT buses are wheelchair accessible with the exception of bus number 130. However, TCAT's fleet is 90% compliant with ADA requirements for each bus having two instead of one wheelchair positions. The fleet consists mainly of the following models:

Current Fleet

Fleet Number(s)	Year	Manufacturer	Model	Notes
130	1989	Orion/BIA	01.507	Ex-Ithaca Transit, using same fleet numbers
911-914	1990, 1991	Orion/BIA	01.507	Ex-Tomtran, using same fleet numbers
57-61, 63-68	1992, 1993	Orion/BIA	01.507	Ex-Cornell University, using same fleet numbers
101-108	2001	Nova Bus Nova Bus Nova Bus is a Canadian bus manufacturer in North America, owned by Volvo Buses, and headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada.- History :The factory was originally a General Motors plant for building city transit buses intended for the Canadian market...	LFS
73	2001	Optima	American Heritage Streetcar	Previously CNG, converted to diesel.
201-209	2002	New Flyer	D40LF
601-608	2006	Gillig	Advantage T40
610-612	2006	Ford	E450 Ford E-Series The Ford E-Series, formerly known as the Econoline or Club Wagon, is a line of full-size vans and truck chassis from the Ford Motor Company. The E-Series is related to the Ford F-Series line of pickup trucks. The line was introduced in 1961 as a compact van and its descendants are still produced...
613-615	2007	Gillig	Advantage T40 Hybrid
701-703	2007	Gillig Gillig Gillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...	Advantage T40 Hybrid
901-902	2009	Gillig Gillig Gillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...	Advantage T40

Fares

TCAT charges a flat fare for all trips - except when boarding or disembarking in Tioga County or Schuyler County

Schuyler County, New York

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,224 people, 7,374 households, and 5,191 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile . There were 9,181 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

. Cash customers are entitled to one free transfer upon request. Seniors and those with disabilities pay half-fare, as do children under 18. Additionally, up to three children, aged five or younger, travel free with an adult.

Cash Fares

	Adult (18-59)	Youth (6-17)	Senior (60+)/ Disabled
Single Fare	$1.50	75 cents	75 cents	Valid for any continuous one-way trip within Tompkins County, includes one free transfer.
Out of County Fare	$3.00	$1.50	$1.50	Higher fare for trips that begin or end in Tioga County on TCAT operated routes.

Passes

	Price	Notes
Ten Ride Card	$15.00 (Adult) $7.50 (Youth) $7.50 (Senior)	Valid for ten one way rides, no expiration date.
One Day Pass	$3.00	Good for unlimited trips on a single calendar day.
Multi Day Passes	$6.00 (2 days) $12.50 (5 days) $18.00 (8 days)	Good for unlimited trips for two, five, or eight consecutive days respectively.
Monthly Pass	$45.00	Valid until midnight on the 30th day after first use.
Annual Pass	$495.00 (or $41.25 monthly)	Valid for one year.
Semester Student Pass	$30.00	Valid Sept-Jan or Feb-June. Must be aged 6–18 and be in grades K-12 school in the TCAT region.
Summer Fun Pass	$50.00	Valid July and August. Must be aged 6–18 and attending school in the TCAT region.

TCAT also offers monthly and semester passes for Ithaca College and Cornell University students at a substantial discount.

1-8 day passes and the annual pass can only be purchased directly from the TCAT office or online. Ten ride cards and the monthly pass are sold at various outlets throughout the city of Ithaca and Tompkins County. K-12 and college student passes are purchased through the student's respective school or college.