Snippets about Lake Tahoe
· BlueGo, the South Shore transit operator, is offering free rides on some routes May 28-30. For more info, go online.
· The Bicycle Advisory Committee of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority will meet June 1 from 9-11am in the downstairs conference room at Lake Tahoe Airport.
· The nonprofit Project MANA, which provides food to about 3,000 people a year in North Lake Tahoe on Truckee, is in search of a new home after the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation in Incline Village did not renew the lease.
· On May 25 the Truckee Family Resource Center will be hosting a car seat safety check event from 2-6pm in the parking lot at 11695 Donner Pass Road next to Kid Zone. A limited number of car seats will be available to replace broken or expired seats
· The League to Save Lake Tahoe is having and Eyes on the Lake trainings June 3 from 10am-12:30pm and June 21 from 5:30-8pm.
The following is copied from the Tahoe Transportation District’s (TTD) website:
Ride free on California routes 50 and 53.
“Free rides” are good for unlimited travel on these select routes on the following dates:
Every weekend starting Memorial Day weekend (May 28-30)
through Labor Day Weekend (September 3-5)
and every day during the month of July!!
Thank you TTD for making possible the opportunity for community members and visitors to have free public transportation on the identified weekends and during the month of July.
This should be the norm, 24/7, 365 there is no charge. It’s not free though.
I truly believe that BlueGo is a wonderful but under utilized mode of transportation in South Lake Tahoe. Free transportation throughout town would be nice, but BlueGo is a relatively decent value.
Free transit would be great. Who pays for it?
When I’ve previously heard TTD Executive Director Carl Hasty discuss past “free” rides that were provided it was because the TTD had applied for and been the recipient of a Federal grant that covered the operating costs for that designated “free-ride” period. I would imagine the same is true in this instance since I doubt that BlueGo suddenly became flush with money.
I agree that “free” is not correct and think an alternate description of “no-fee” or “no-charge” would be more accurate but I also think that it’s easier for the public to recognize the term “free” without question and that it is a shorter description. It would be great if no-charge public transportation was the norm and was available 24/7, 365-days a year and I also agree that someone would have to pay for that. While the Feds are willing to award grants for free-rides during short time periods I doubt that they’d be willing to pay for a 24/7, 365-day free public transportation system for South Lake Tahoe. Where a no-charge to the rider public transportation system has been implemented it was those local taxpayers who’d voted for a tax increase that was paid by locals and visitors alike which paid for the system that was available to all. But the probability of South Lake Tahoe’s residents agreeing to something like that anytime in the near future would likely be impossible.
I would agree 4-mer. Those destinations that have no charge transit typically have supported it by a tax, Park City comes to mind or some kind of big subsidy like the park service does in Springdale (outside Zion national park). I also don’t see the community supporting any kind of tax for this. As such, the existing transit system with slight modifications over time are probably about what we will have.