It’s no secret that we love CATA! We’ve had the honor of partnering with CATA to bring our Lansing Mom Community information, customized route itineraries, and fun. As we’ve continued our partnership with CATA, we realize there is so much more to CATA that our community may not know, and we are so excited to share how special CATA is. Read on for Five Reasons Why Lansing Mom Loves CATA, we hope you’ll learn something new that benefits you, or someone you love!
Art in Motion
Let’s dive right in with why Lansing Mom Loves CATA! You’ve probably noticed the gorgeous CATA buses around the city adorned with local artists. They are thanks to an initiative that CATA launched with the Arts Council of Greater Lansing to bring art to everyone. According to the CATA Website, “five articulated 60-foot buses will provide the landscape for regional artists to showcase their talents.” We love this initiative from CATA and the Arts Council because it makes art available to all within our community, on a scale that is truly larger than life. Making art accessible to our community is something that is so important to us at Lansing Mom. We truly believe that each person in our community should have access to the arts. We’re excited to share each artist with you below so that you can take a peek at their art.
- Elyse Gambino CATA Bus features her work, with mediums like fiber, that she hopes will allow people to slow down and notice.
- Daniel J. Hogan CATA Bus features his cartoon work of a box of Free Cats, adding joy and silliness to the bus!
- Steph Joy Hogan CATA Bus features a piece from her Scrapscapes series.
- Lucy Synk CATA Bus features the piece, Farmers Market. This piece seeks to, “accurately represent a more diverse America.”
- Jennifer Taggart Wilson CATA Bus features a fantasy world made with a punch needle technique.
Holiday Travel
You may have seen us share about this one over on Lansing Mom’s Social Media Channels leading into the holiday season, if not you can check it out here. We’re excited to share this important initiative to help our community on days of the year that might be difficult to travel. In 2024 CATA rolled out an initiative to enhance holiday travel for our community and we were so excited. In 2024 CATA offered limited curb-to-curb service on select holidays. This past year they offered service for Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
We are so excited to share that CATA will be offering this service into 2025 too! You will need to make a reservation in advance in order to use this service but it also means that our community could get where they needed to be, whether it was with loved ones, or somewhere else, on these special days. This service will be continued in 2025 and you can find out more information, and reserve a ride, by heading to the CATA Website.
Wait-Stop Trips
We loved learning about Wait-Stop Trips this year with CATA because we had no idea that they existed! If you were like us and don’t know, a Wait-Stop Trip is a service offered by CATA on Spec-Tran. It allows riders to make a brief stop on your scheduled trip. It allows you to drop off a child before heading to work, grab groceries on the way home, and more. Making your trips on CATA Spec-Tran even more convenient. To utilize this service you will need to book in advance. Want to learn more about how you might use a Wait-Stop Trip? Head to the CATA Website.
Fleet Electrification
CATA has already introduced a hybrid fleet that we are so excited about as we continue to talk about emissions, our planet, and the climate. Something brand new to be introduced in 2025 is fully electric buses! CATA has big plans to aim for a fully electric fleet by 2035. The fleet would focus on net-zero emissions and we are so excited that CATA is making these changes for the betterment of our community. Read more about Fleet Electrification here.
Community Safe Place
One of the things we are most excited to share with you is how, “CATA’s fleet and facilities are certified as ‘safe places’ through the National Safe Place program.” According to the Safe Place Website, Safe Place is a program for teens when they, “find themselves in crisis or need a place to stay,” and are looking for a place where they can get the resources to help them. According to the CATA Website, “the National Safe Place program provides immediate assistance to youths who face homelessness, abuse or exploitation.”
This program is made public by signage on CATA vehicles and facilities. If a person is in danger, needs assistance, or believes the program may be beneficial to them, they can speak to a CATA Employee who will notify a supervisor to come and review the situation. Supervisors will connect individuals with resources or call in law enforcement if necessary. We are so grateful to CATA for being at the forefront of these types of programs in order to keep our communities safe. You can read more about the program by visiting the CATA Website.
