Starting Aug. 21, Penn State will launch a new campus shuttle service that will make getting around University Park campus easier and more convenient. The new, no-fare service — Campus Shuttle via Pollock Road — will include 16 stops and provide more flexible transport for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

The existing Campus Shuttle route and schedule, which will remain unchanged, will be renamed the Campus Shuttle via College Avenue beginning this fall.

University officials hope the new Campus Shuttle service will encourage more people to “park once” and take advantage of the shuttle to navigate campus.

“The new Campus Shuttle via Pollock Road will help us reach an important goal — increasing the number of people who get around campus using transit and other modes of alternative transportation,” said Rob DeMayo, director of Transportation Services. “With our new service, combined with the existing Campus Shuttle and CATA’s LOOP and LINK, we will offer six dedicated no-fare campus transit options that provide convenient transportation to nearly every corner of the University Park campus.”

With the addition of the new Campus Shuttle route, Transportation Services will replace its Paratransit Shuttle service, which provided transportation for pre-approved students, faculty, and staff with mobility impairments. Transportation Services engaged with Student Disability Resources and the Affirmative Action office to ensure that the change wouldn’t diminish service to students, faculty, and staff with mobility impairments. “The new route will provide access to a wider expanse of campus than previously offered by the Paratransit Shuttle,” DeMayo said.

“The new Campus Shuttle represents a more inclusive transportation solution for individuals with mobility impairments and others in the Penn State community,” said Keith Jervis, director of Student Disability Resources.

“No longer will an individual need to identify and be labeled as a person with a disability to have access to this transportation option,” he said. “This universally designed solution will benefit many while providing more timely access to classes and offices.”

Like the existing Campus Shuttle vehicles, the new Campus Shuttle will be wheelchair-accessible, and beginning this fall, all shuttles will offer priority seating for those with mobility impairments. Students, faculty, and staff with mobility impairments who require point-to-point transit service are still encouraged to use the CATARIDE program.

Transportation Services recently partnered with TransLoc to equip each Campus Shuttle vehicle with automatic vehicle location (AVL) technology that allows customers to see each shuttle in real-time and receive arrival predictions through the TransLoc Rider mobile app and at psu.transloc.com. Real-time information for the new Campus Shuttle via Pollock Road will be available through the mobile app and website.