Report: South Shore transit reliable, financially stable
By Kathryn Reed
STATELINE – Buses are in better shape, they run on time more often, the yard is cleaned up, and the whole system is operating in the black. Those are the changes to BlueGo since the Tahoe Transportation District took over in November 2010.
And today, not a dime of the budget is coming from the casinos.
Curtis Garner, who is charge of the transit system on the South Shore, updated the TTD board March 22 about what has happened in the two plus years since the change in operator.
“The baseline is improving. We project to have the highest level of ridership since the 2009-10 season,” Garner said. Projections are for the non-skier rides to top 500,000 this fiscal year.
This is what the fare cards will look like.
Weather plays a large role in BlueGo’s numbers because many of those on board are headed to Heavenly Mountain Resort. The ridership was up significantly in 2010-11 on the ski shuttles because that was the winter that would never end.
When BlueGo offered free rides on its main Highway 50 route during the Christmas-New Year’s span the ridership spiked.
Angela Swanson, who is South Lake Tahoe’s rep to the TTD board, said she would like staff to show what it would take to offer free ridership year-round.
Because a free bus system isn’t likely to happen any time soon, BlueGo staff is going forward with creating six magnetic passes that will be used by riders in lieu of cash. As soon as the devices are installed on the entire fleet, the cards will be sold to riders.
Garner said the big thing Tahoe needs to do is create a regional transit system. He added, that until it does so, bringing in events like the X Games or the Olympics would not be possible.
TTD board chairman Steve Teshera said funding is the big stumbling block when it comes to that regionwide system.
The next goals, Garner said, are to conduct a travel impact study of people going from the Bay Area to the Lake Tahoe Basin, a regional facilities alternatives analysis and long-range transit plan, and define a preferred local alternative for a passenger ferry.
Be interesting to see what the fare box covers in total cost of the operation. Years ago, I was told that the fare box paid about 10%-15% of the budget. Getting companies that depend on tourism and employees to commute, might be enticed to come up with the extra $s for a fee free transit system. The drivers might even be happier as they most likely will get tip $s. Common complaint from so called planners is no free transit.
“to top 500,000. . .” Whistler, before their Olympics, routinely carried 5 X’s that many in a municipality with 1/3 the population of South Lake Tahoe. . . and still all transit center phones are broken, along with absent bus shelters, and mostly just two lines (A to B, B to A, except for the ski shuttles).
Angela is to be commended for bringing up “free”, as it’s apparent that the farebox will not harbor the significant transit growth necessary to sustainable communities. A few years ago, the country of Belgium went in an all ‘free’ direction, resulting in a 5-6 X (500%-600%) increase in ridership; the increase focused them on service issues, which then secured the ridership. . .
South Lake Tahoe is exceptionally car-centric, with U.S. 50 running from CA to Maryland to the East. . .therefore will take an extraordinary effort to break that reliance – but a step that will have to be taken in order to effect the shift to bikable, walkable (“wikable”?) communities now often talked about, especially with from an organization that heralds “2035”…
As a lot of municipal transit operations are government-subsidized, 25% in fare box receipts are easily covered by a 5-600% increase in riders, which in turn diminishes road & car repairs, accidents, and traffic congestion – not to mention the need for a $ 70,000,000 Loop Road.
Redesign the area as necessary, but with a different cost justification that includes better transit: it is just about better people-moving, once (and if) they ever get here again.
If you say so!