In the News

Tahoe Gets Public Transit Upgrade
date posted: October 7 2003

By John Cobourn, Water Resource Specialist;
Heather Segale, Environmental Education Coordinator; University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

The Need for Improved Public Transportation
A community’s transportation system has wide-ranging impacts on the quality of life and the environment. America’s auto-oriented transportation system dirties the air, contaminates the water, consumes open space and wildlife habitat, hastens climate change, and guzzles energy. Motor vehicles are the largest source of urban air pollution, generating more than two-thirds of the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, a third of the nitrogen oxides (which react to form smog), and a quarter of the hydrocarbons (which also form smog). Some pollutants emitted by cars and trucks are known or likely to cause cancer, including toxic substances such as soot (fine particulates), benzene, arsenic compounds, formaldehyde, and lead. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that mobile sources such as cars, trucks, and buses release about 3 billion pounds of cancer-causing, hazardous air pollutants each year.

Transportation also has a significant impact on water quality. Runoff from roads, bridges, parking lots and other impervious surfaces can pollute drinking water and lead to changes in water chemistry that degrade habitat quality. This significant non-point pollution source deposits road salt, dirt and dust, fertilizers, pesticides, antifreeze, engine oil, rubber and metal deposits, litter and other pollutants into aquifers, streams, rivers and lakes (Surface Transportation Policy Project, www.transact.org). Public transportation systems can potentially cause a significant reduction in the number of vehicles on the road and therefore reduce the environmental impacts. So, it is good news to hear that better public transportation systems are coming to the Lake Tahoe community.

South Tahoe Gets Public Transit Upgrade—BlueGo
South Lake Tahoe, California and Stateline, Nevada are the beneficiaries of the new BlueGo system. BlueGo is a coordinated public transportation system that combines previously offered transit systems under one management structure designed to offer an easy, convenient, personalized transit option to both locals and visitors. South Shore is the first region in the United States to deploy this type of computer networked multi-system transportation organization.

In the past, riders have had to navigate a maze of various public and private transportation services to figure out the best route to their destination. With casino shuttles, ski shuttles, city busses, county busses, on-demand van services, a customer needed to know not only what was available, but how that particular service worked. Now customers can access complete information, and request a ride through one of the many outlets: internet-based kiosks, hotline phones, a telephone information line, and the BlueGo website at www.bluego.org.

BlueGo is a public/private partnership offering riders improved timeliness, easy-to-use ride request options, and an environmentally friendly service. Partners in the new system include the City of South Lake Tahoe, El dorado County (CA), Douglas county (NV), the Tahoe Transportation District, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Heavenly Ski Resort, Caesars Tahoe, Harrahs Lake Tahoe, Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Horizon Resort Casino, and Lakeside Inn and Casino.

There are four options for riders to order and use the new ride system. First, the former S.T.A.G.E. buses and the seasonal Heavenly Ski Shuttles will continue to run their scheduled routes. Second, riders can call the BlueGo Hotline at 530 541-7149 or use www.bluego.org for complete schedules, fares and information about all BlueGo services. Third, computerized kiosks have been strategically placed in 30 locations around the South Shore for instant access to general shuttle information, routes, and schedules. Fourth, free phones have been placed in 45 locations around the community for easy access to schedules and ride request features.

Why is BlueGo Important to South Shore?

The new Transit system offers many benefits to the public at large: improved traffic flow, convenience, and environmentally friendly and affordable alternatives to automobile transportation. BlueGo will be responsive to the fluctuating needs for transportation from season to season and from day to day. One element which will enable the system to better meet transit demand will be the use of computer aided dispatching, using Global Positioning System (GPS) hardware to track the locations of all transit vehicles. This will not only result in lower wait/ride times for consumers, but also in continuously improved routing and scheduling of resources.

Another important benefit of the improved public transit system will be a reduction in air and water pollution caused by the thousands of automobiles on our roadways. As service improves and more people choose public transit over driving their own vehicles, less carbon monoxide, nitrogen and particulates will be emitted into the air. Since auto emissions are responsible for much of Lake Tahoe’s water pollution, more use of public transit is considered a key step to stopping the decline in the Lake’s water quality. The new system will deploy five low emission Compressed Natural Gas busses at the start, and long term goals include total conversion of the BlueGo fleet to alternative fuels.

Watch for “The Lake Tahoe Report” in the North Tahoe Bonanza each Friday, and tune in to KOLO-TV News Channel 8 Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to learn more. Next week we will visit the UC Davis Tahoe Research Group research facility. “The Lake Tahoe Report” is a collaborative effort of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service. For more information, contact Heather Segale, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138, or logon to www.lteec.org or www.unce.unr.edu.