New CATS bus service starts Feb. 18

ALACHUA – A second attempt at a public bus service in Alachua is scheduled to start Feb. 18. The city will celebrate the long-awaited service Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Cleather Hathcock Senior Community Center.

The reincarnated City of Alachua Transit System (CATS) is a north/south circular route of Alachua. The city received a $76,684 federal stimulus grant from the Federal Transit Authority to pay for the new bus. The city purchased the bus in December and contracted M/V Transportation Services Inc. as the service provider.  The city also budgeted $40,000 for the operation of CATS.

Hours of operation are expected to be no more than six hours per day for 255 days a year. Service days will exclude holidays, nights and weekends. Since low-income and elderly residents are the priority, the bus stops are located accordingly. The bus fee is $1 for a one-way trip, which is down from the original proposal of $2.

The city scrapped the original City of Alachua Transit System (CATS) in November 2008. It was canceled after an unsuccessful two-year trial run because of low ridership. The old CATS ran from Alachua to Gainesville and back to help people with limited or no transportation to reach employment centers in Alachua and help senior citizens in Alachua get to medical appointments in Gainesville.

Additional routes for the new CATS service may be considered based on the success of the program and the determined needs of the city’s residents.   Alachua city commissioners have discussed connecting the service with Gainesville’s RTS in the future if it is feasible.