Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit
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| Founded | 1998 |
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| Headquarters | 737 Willow Ave.Coordinates: 42°27′12″N 76°30′20″W / 42.45333°N 76.50556°W |
| Locale | Ithaca, New York |
| Service area | Tompkins County, New York |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Hubs | Green Street (Commons) Cornell University Ithaca Mall |
| Fleet | 54 vehicles |
| Daily ridership | 4.13 million annual trips |
| Fuel type | Diesel, Electric-Diesel |
| Operator | TCAT, Inc. (fixed routes) GADABOUT (paratransit) |
| Website | www |
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc., usually referred to as TCAT, is a private, non-profit public transportation operator, created by Cornell University, Tompkins County, and the City of Ithaca to serve Tompkins County, New York. The vast majority of TCAT bus routes are based in the City of Ithaca and surrounding urban area. These routes serve Ithaca College, Cornell University, and Tompkins Cortland Community College.
As of 2013, TCAT operates 33 bus routes. Door to door paratransit service is provided by GADABOUT Transportation Services, Inc.
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) was formed in 1998 by consolidating three public transit systems – Ithaca Transit (City of Ithaca), TOMTRAN (Tompkins County) and CU Transit (Cornell University) into a single system. In the 1960s the City and Cornell established independent bus systems which expanded throughout the next two decades. Service was first extended to serve Ithaca’s suburbs in the 1970s, and to rural towns beginning in 1982. In 1974, a transit service in Northeast Ithaca (Lansing, Cayuga Heights and the Town of Ithaca) was started by apartment owners contracting with Swarthout Coaches to operate limited service for Cornell students, and as the public demand for service increased, the apartment owners sought assistance from local governments and Cornell University, which became Northeast Transit in 1978.
Tompkins County became involved in supporting suburban routes and in developing rural transit service. The County formed TOMTRAN to extend fixed-route bus service to Dryden, Caroline and Newark Valley in 1982, Groton (1983), Newfield and Ulysses (1985), and Lansing and Danby (1991). In 1999, TCAT initiated bus service to Enfield, the last unserved town in the County. In 1992, the City, Cornell and County built a $5 million transit facility to base transit operations and fleet maintenance including GADABOUT. In 1996, the New York State Legislature adopted a state law that authorized TCAT to be created as a joint partnership, governmental entity, and on April 1, 1998, the City of Ithaca, Cornell University and Tompkins County established TCAT as a joint venture (public entity) to operate public transit service in Tompkins County, service began in 1999, establishing a unified route and fare system. TCAT re-organized itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, TCAT. Inc. in 2005 with representatives of City of Ithaca, Cornell University, and Tompkins County serving on its Board of Directors.
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