By David Stewart
This area's consolidated transit system is getting a new name July 1 -- T CAT, for Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit.
The name is the result of a contest conducted earlier this year by Ithaca Transit, Tomtran and CU Transit, the three Tompkins County bus lines that joined forces to unify their routes, fares and schedules.
The winner of the name-that-transit-system contest is Mark Jutton, a technician in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Barbara Blanchard, a member of the county Board of Representatives and chair of the Operations Committee of the Ithaca-Tompkins Transit Center, said: "We wanted a name that's easy to read, pronounce, and remember, that's upbeat and positive, creative, fun and marketable. It had to be a name that you would be proud to see splashed across the sides of very large vehicles."
When T CAT buses sport the new name, they'll get a graphic look that symbolizes "motion and efficiency, with the sleekness, vigor and dynamic attributes of the wild cats that roamed North America, including New York state," Blanchard explained.
"It's our hope to have a graphic representation ready to unveil at the Ithaca Festival in June," she said. "Buses will be painted throughout the year as body work is done; new buses on order will arrive factory-painted."
Jutton's entry was the first to suggest the "cat" theme and graphic. "His entry scored highest with the judges," Blanchard said.
Jutton gets his choice of a $250 U.S. savings bond or a trip to Toronto to see Phantom of the Opera. Nine other contestants with early time-dated entries suggested some variation of CAT, and each will receive a consolation prize.
The judges were Richard Driscoll, Community Arts Partnership; Susan Lerner, organizational development and training specialist at Cornell; Debra Perosio, marketing specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension; and Gossa Tsegaye, local documentary producer and instructor of television arts at Ithaca College.
"The Operations Committee believes that T CAT includes two concepts expressed by many entrants the importance of including 'Tompkins' in the name and the cat image. We had 1,553 entries, many more than ever expected, and we want to thank the community for its interest and support," Blanchard said.
"Throughout this entire process, we've built on the cooperation between the city of Ithaca, Tompkins County and Cornell University that resulted in the construction of the jointly-owned and operated transit center in 1991-92," she added.
Ithaca Transit, Tomtran and CU Transit operate out of the center on Willow Avenue across from Newman Municipal Golf Course. Gadabout, the para-transit service provider for the elderly and disabled, also operates out of the center.