rabbittransit Capital Region, formerly known as Capital Area Transit (CAT), is a public transportation agency that operates bus and paratransit service in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. Its scheduled route bus service covers much of the southern half of Dauphin County and the eastern half of Cumberland County. It also operates one bus route into northern York County. CAT's shared ride/paratransit operations serve residents throughout Dauphin County. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,200,800.
rabbittransit Capital Region employs approximately 200 people and its management headquarters and bus maintenance facility are both located at 901 North Cameron Street in Harrisburg. rabbittransit Capital Region’s parent agency, rabbittransit is based in York, Pa and operates fixed route bus service, paratransit, and microtransit in the York, Gettysburg, Chambersburg, and Hanover areas of South-Central Pennsylvania. rabbittransit’s headquarters is located at 415 Zarfoss Drive, York, Pennsylvania.[2]
The Authority is governed by a seven member Board of Directors. Three are appointed by the city of Harrisburg, two are selected by Dauphin County, and two are chosen by Cumberland County. Each board member serves a five year term (at which time they may be reappointed by their respective municipalities). The Board meets each month on the last Wednesday to set policy and provide guidance to the staff. Committees of the Board meet on an ad-hoc basis dependent upon the activity occurring within the Authority.
CAT currently has two divisions – a Fixed Route Bus Division and a Shared Ride/Paratransit Division. A third division for commuter rail is currently being developed.[2]
On December 22, 2020, it was announced that CAT and rabbittransit would merge to form the Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority.[3] The merger was proposed in order for better service and to prevent CAT service cuts.[4] The merged system will use the rabbittransit name. The CAT branding continues to be used on buses, with a sticker underneath the CAT logo saying "a service of rabbittransit."[5]
Bus fleet
CAT owns a fleet of 87 fixed route buses. The fleet includes eleven 35 foot buses, twenty-one 29 foot buses, and fifty-five 40 foot low floor buses. CAT's buses followed a three digit numbering scheme until 1994. Buses bought in 1995 are numbered to show their year of acquisition (95) in the first two digits. Starting in 2001, all CAT buses ordered that year or later show the year in the second digit of the bus number. CAT's active fleet roster is shown below.
As of October 2020[update], CAT operates 32 bus routes in its fixed route network. These include short distance shuttle routes, longer distance, rush hourexpress routes, and regular, intermediate length routes. Nearly all the routes are organized into a hub and spoke system centered on Downtown Harrisburg. The hub in the system is the CAT Transfer Center, located at the southeast corner of the intersection of 2nd Street and Market Street in Harrisburg's Market Square.
CAT routes have either a number or letter and route name assigned to distinguish individual routes. Generally speaking, numbered routes operate in the Harrisburg "East Shore" area in Dauphin County, while lettered routes operate across the Susquehanna River in the Harrisburg "West Shore" area in Cumberland County. Many routes operate Monday through Saturday, though some only operate Monday through Friday during rush hours. None of CAT's fixed routes operate on Sundays; however the shared ride division does provide rides seven days a week. Many routes only operate over a portion of the route for certain runs.
Local routes
The following routes provide local bus service, with all routes serving Downtown Harrisburg:[7]
Harrisburg Train Station, 6th Street, Harrisburg Train Station, Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg, Harrisburg Train Station, 13th Street, Paxton Street, Spring Creek Health Center (limited weekday service)
operates Monday-Saturday
7
Middletown
7th and Basin (PHEAA) or Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Harrisburg Train Station, Cameron Street, DGS Complex (peak hours only), Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg Area Community College
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service to Capital Blue Cross
12
Colonial Park
Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Paxton Towne Center (Target), Gateway Corporate Center, or Linglestown Square
Harrisburg Train Station, State Street, Walnut Street, U.S. Route 22, Colonial Park Mall, Giant, Colonial Commons Paxton Towne Center (Target), Gateway Corporate Center (weekday peak hours only)
operates Monday-Saturday, limited weekday service to Gateway Corporate Center and Linglestown Square
14
Springford/Union Deposit
Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Springford Apartments
Harrisburg Train Station, Market Street, Union Deposit Road, Walnut Crossing Apartments, Union Square, Point Mall (Giant), Twin Lakes Apartments, Four Seasons Apartments, Pennswood Apartments
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service
17
Union Deposit/Hamilton Health Center
Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Point Mall (Giant)
Harrisburg Train Station, State Street, 17th Street, Hamilton Health Center, Berryhill Street, Kline Village (Giant), Union Deposit Road, Union Square Shopping Center, Osteopathic Hospital
operates Thursday, first trip operates from Latsha Towers to Kline Village (Giant), second trip operates from Linden Terrace Apartments to Kline Village (Giant)
322
Hershey/Hummelstown
7th and Basin (PHEAA) or Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Harrisburg Train Station, Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg, Lemoyne, New Cumberland, Fairview Plaza, Capital City Airport
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service, limited service to 7th and Basin (PHEAA), Capital City Airport and New Cumberland Defense Depot
AB
Upper Allen Business Park
Park Run Apartments
Abacus
Steelton, Juvenile Center, 13th Street, Downtown Harrisburg
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service
B
Highland Park/Westport
7th and Basin (PHEAA) or Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Westport
Harrisburg Train Station, Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg, Lemoyne, Gettysburg Road, Shiremanstown, Weis Market, Encompass Health, Upper Allen Business Park, Rossmoyne Business Center
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service to 7th and Basin (PHEAA)
C
Carlisle
7th and Basin (PHEAA) or Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Harrisburg Train Station, Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg, Lemoyne, Shiremanstown, Weis Market, Mechanicsburg
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service
F
Enola
Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
College Hill and B or Giant Food
Enola, Shady Lane Olympic Skating Park & Ride, College Hill & B, Pennsylvania Route 944, West Shore Hospital
operates Monday-Friday, peak hour service, limited service to Giant Food
M
Mechanicsburg
7th and Basin (PHEAA) or Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg
Rutter's in Mechanicsburg
Harrisburg Train Station, Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg, Lemoyne, West Shore Plaza, Camp Hill, Camp Hill Mall (Barnes & Noble), Pennsylvania Route 641, Arnold Logistics (weekday peak hours only), Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg (weekday peak hours only), Mechanicsburg
operates Monday-Saturday, weekday peak hour service to 7th and Basin (PHEAA)
13th Street, Transfer Center in Downtown Harrisburg, Harrisburg Train Station, Downtown Harrisburg, 6th Street, Interstate 81, Ross Stores Distribution Center
East King & Queen, King Street, Roxbury Ridge Apartments, Bard Townhouses, College Park Commons, Hot Point Commons, Creekside Court Apartments, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Aldi, Walmart, CVS
operates Monday-Friday, loop route
White Line
A route: East King & Queen, Madison Apartments, McDonald's/Sheetz, Bard Townhouses, Stone Ridge, Hot Point Commons, Creekside Apartments, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Episcopal Square, Turkey Hill, Chambersburg Square in Chambersburg
B route: East King & Queen, Madison Apartments, McDonald's/Sheetz, Bard Townhouses, Stone Ridge, Hot Point Commons, Creekside Apartments, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Shippensburg Cottages, Giant, Aldi, Walmart, CVS
operates Saturday, loop route, A route operates between Shippensburg and Chambersburg, B route operates within Shippensburg
Essentially all of CAT's East Shore routes and many of their West Shore routes stop within one block of the Harrisburg Transportation Center, the primary intercity passenger rail and bus hub in the greater Harrisburg area. Transportation operators who currently provide service at the HTC include Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, Capitol Trailways, and Fullington Trailways. In addition, CAT's Route 7 (Middletown) stops within one block of the Middletown Amtrak station and the Route 322 (Hershey) shares multiple stops in Hershey with Capitol Trailways' Harrisburg/Reading route.
All of CAT's routes excluding the Route 81 – Shippensburg/Naval Base and Route L – Lemoyne Shuttle routes have shared stops in downtown Harrisburg with the Rabbit TransitYork/Harrisburg commuter bus route, the RabbitEXPRESS. Rabbit Transit is CAT's counterpart public transit agency in York County.
Most of CAT's routes also connect at multiple locations in downtown Harrisburg with rush hour, commuter bus routes operated by R & J Transportation. R & J Transportation runs two Schuylkill County/Harrisburg routes.
In Hershey, the Route 322 connects with selected bus routes within the County of Lebanon Transit Authority or COLT system. COLT is the transit provider in Lebanon County. Connecting routes include COLT's Route 8, which connects with the CAT Route 322 at Tanger Outlets Hershey and COLT's Route 18, which shares stops with the Route 322 at various locations within the village of Hershey and at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. COLT also has "Twilight Run", evening service on the Route 8 that connects with CAT's Hershey route.
Finally, the Route 7 (Middletown) stops on some of its runs at Harrisburg International Airport, the primary commercial service airport in South Central Pennsylvania. Most major U.S. passenger airlines, excluding dedicated low-cost carriers, have flights to/from HIA.
Proposed commuter rail services
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2024)
In late 1999, CAT's board of directors voted unanimously to pursue the vision of bringing commuter rail to the Harrisburg metropolitan area. The project, initially named CorridorOne, will provide regional rail service along existing rail facilities within the lower Susquehanna Valley, linking Lancaster with Harrisburg. Original planning of the corridor would have extended service along a 54-mile stretch between Lancaster, Harrisburg and Carlisle, Cumberland County; however, the Harrisburg to Carlisle segment was dropped from the proposal in 2005.
Project schedule
Preliminary engineering and environmental studies phase – completed August 2006
Final engineering design phase – est. 2009
Construction phase – complete late 2010 (est.)
Lancaster to Harrisburg service – operational late 2010 (est.)
Corridor Two
CAT and the Modern Transit Partnership began discussing a second commuter rail corridor in 2009, designated Corridor Two. Corridor Two would operate between York, Harrisburg, and Lebanon. There may be difficulties implementing the Harrisburg-Lebanon segment of CorridorTwo, as this segment would operate on the heavily traveled and fast-growing Norfolk SouthernHarrisburg Line, an east–west trunk line in Norfolk Southern's freight rail system. Norfolk Southern has discussed upgrading and potentially expanding capacity of the Harrisburg-Lebanon segment of their system for freight rail operations as part of their Crescent Corridor initiative between the U.S. Gulf Coast and northern New Jersey.[10]
