Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (Tcat) General Manager Rod Ghearing has announced the introduction of the Cornell--Downtown Shuttle to complement Tcat's existing city bus service.

The new Route 10 will provide express service between the Cornell campus and downtown Ithaca every 10 minutes between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, beginning April 10. (See attached route map.) The mid-day shuttle service will allow Cornell commuters to travel to downtown Ithaca and take advantage of the eclectic mix of shops, restaurants and department stores found on and around the Ithaca Commons.

The introductory fare for Route 10 is 25 cents a trip. Tcat also will accept downtown parking validation stickers as fare payment on the shuttle route. And as a promotion by Tcat, there will be no fare for the first 15 days of the new service.

There will be a celebration to kickoff the Cornell--Downtown Shuttle on April 10 at 9:30 a.m. at the Seneca Street entrance to the Commons. Mayor Alan Cohen, Tcat general manager Rod Ghearing and a host of other dignitaries are scheduled to attend. Attendees will be invited to participate in the inaugural trip on the new shuttle.

"We hope to have a high level of community participation," Cohen said. "Everyone is invited to come down and join in the fun."

To encourage both regular transit users and new riders to give the route a whirl, Tcat is suspending the 25 cent fare from April 10 to 25.

"You can ride free, use your city bus pass, a downtown parking validation sticker or your OmniRide pass," Ghearing said. "You can't find a better deal than that."

The shuttle is a supplement to the routes that already support riders traveling from downtown Ithaca and outlying areas to Cornell and back.

"Route 10 will provide dedicated service with short-trip intervals to encourage more people to try transit for trips for which they would traditionally use a vehicle," Ghearing said. "There's no need to fight traffic and search for a parking space -- with convenient stops and times, we've made it easier than ever to travel from campus to downtown and back again." Ghearing said the route also would be convenient for cyclists who find Ithaca's hills intimidating. Easy-to-use bike racks are available on Route 10 buses and the rest of the Tcat fleet.

The express route has been supported by Ithaca Mayor Alan Cohen and was first proposed by the Downtown Vision Task Force and former Mayor Benjamin Nichols.

Local merchants also have applauded the new route.

"We're hoping that more consumers will travel downtown for shopping, appointments and, of course, lunch. The entire community stands to benefit from the shuttle service," said Al Smith, owner of the Shortstop Deli and the chair of the Government Relations and Public Services Committee of the newly formed Ithaca Business Improvement District (BID).