Capital Area Transit has entered into a public-private partnership with Chewy, a leading online retailer of pet food and supplies, to provide public transit service to hundreds of employees commuting from the Harrisburg area to the company’s 600,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Mechanicsburg.
“This is a great example of CAT’s ability to adjust to the needs of private sector employers in Cumberland County by providing transit service for commuting workers who might not otherwise access jobs outside of Dauphin County,” Tom Reynolds, CAT interim general manager, said.
Chewy currently employs more than 1,200 workers in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, with approximately 42% of those employees residing in the City of Harrisburg.
The new CAT Route, CY-Carlisle Pike Warehouse, runs from downtown Harrisburg to the Chewy facility off the Carlisle Pike, starting at 4:51 AM with four trips to the facility a day. In bound service from the Chewy fulfillment center to Harrisburg begins at 4:00 AM and runs five trips per weekday, ending at 12:30 AM midnight. The route is scheduled to coincide with Chewy shift changes. For those late night and early morning trips, CAT is serving the Allison Hill area of Harrisburg to address the mobility needs of the high concentration of workers in that area.
“Chewy is excited for this opportunity to partner with CAT to provide economical public transit service for our team members who commute from Harrisburg every day,” said Justin Canales, general manager of Chewy’s Mechanicsburg fulfillment center. “We recognize this is an important service that will dually benefit Chewy employees who need extended access to public transportation, as well as serve to increase daily CAT ridership.”
CAT is currently providing low cost public transit service to other warehouse facilities in Cumberland County like Amazon, Fry Communications, and WEG warehouse.
