Planners eye YARTS arrival in county

A YOSEMITE AREA Regional Transportation Bus sits idle in a parking lot in Yosemite Valley. Maggie Beck/Union Democrat, copyright 2012

Representatives with Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System, the park and Tuolumne County are discussing a park-funded bus line that would run once a day from May through September, with a second run on weekends and holidays, said YARTS Transit Manager Dick Whittington.

The expansion is still under discussion and dependent upon funding approval by the park service, Whittington said.
Whittington said that the line, should it happen, would likely run from Sonora through Jamestown to Highway 120 into Groveland before running to Yosemite Valley.    

“Until that’s approved, it’s still a wish,” he said.    

YARTS currently runs bus routes along Highway 140 from Merced through Mariposa into Yosemite Valley, as well as from the valley to multiple sites within the park. The bus system also runs to several stops on Highway 120 in the park and to some stops on highways 395 and 203.    

A round-trip ticket from Mariposa to Yosemite is $12, according to the YARTS online schedule.    

Yosemite officials have been studying alternatives for motor vehicle travel into the valley, and recent transportation planning documents for the park have included suggestions of a public route to Tuolumne County. Early drafts of a management plan for the Merced River that could dictate policy in the valley has suggested possible solutions on the amount of car traffic allowed into the park.    

Darin Grossi, executive director for the Tuolumne County Transportation Council, said they have recommended the park provide approximately $198,000 annually for transit services beginning in the spring. That sum would cover the daily routes and extra routes on weekends, Grossi said.    

But like Whittington, Grossi said some steps need to occur before this becomes a reality. County transportation officials are already meeting with local merchants, and continue to do so, to discuss “details of what the service might look like.” Some of those details include possible stops, schedules and fares.    

“It’s still up in the air,” Grossi said, later adding “a lot of details will be worked out.”   

Tuolumne County officials opted against a YARTS line when the system was first put in place. Grossi said there were concerns at the time that the transit system would be the mandatory way for people to get to Yosemite, instead of the optional route it is today.    

Tuolumne County Supervisor John Gray sits on the TCTC board, and he has also been involved in the talks. As the county representative for the Groveland area, Gray has a strong interest in any issues dealing with Yosemite and the park’s northern gate.    

Gray said last week the bus line has been discussed for several years as a way to help alleviate heavy traffic in the valley. Gray said he believes a bus line could help “take the edge off” traffic into the park, especially with European travellers who would be less likely to want to drive into the valley.    

Gray also said some concerns over eliminating car traffic to the park remain in the community, though he said he doesn’t believe that’s a reality to worry about.    

“I look at the transit bus issue as a piece of it (cutting down traffic into the park). It’s certainly not the full solution,” he said.   

Gray said he keeps a long-term view of transportation into the park that he thinks could possibly lead to some new residents. He said 1,000 park employees and about 3,000 concession employees take YARTS buses into the park from outside Yosemite on Highway 140 every day.
If a reliable, regular YARTS line runs to Groveland, Gray said he wonders if some of those employees in Yosemite might choose the area instead.    

“If we have a YARTS bus, would it be more desirable to live in the Tuolumne County corridor?” Gray asked.    

James Nagle has his sites set on ways a potential bus line could bring in more people who reside in the area temporarily. Nagle, an officer with the Yosemite Chamber of Commerce in the Groveland area, said he believes a YARTS bus makes the local lodging businesses more attractive for tourists.

If there is a bus line, hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts could offer bus passes for out-of-towners looking to get to the park, especially during the busy part of the season when lodging in Yosemite is often tough to get. Nagle said none of the lodging businesses in Groveland have shuttle services into the park at this time. 

“The benefit here, for us, would be … that these people would be able to park their cars, get on the bus, go on up and enjoy Yosemite and come back to our community,” he said.