John Breternitz takes Lake Tahoe public transit tour

New trolly to run this summer from Tahoe Biltmore

LAKE TAHOE - From the Summit Reno to Incline Village, Crystal Bay, Tahoe City, Squaw Valley and then Truckee — that’s the trek new Washoe County Commissioner John Breternitz made on public transportation.

“I don’t believe a Washoe Commissioner has ever taken the time to see how the transit system works in the North Lake Tahoe-Truckee region,” said Jan Colyer, executive director of the Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association. “It is certainly different than a city transit service like Reno-Sparks region.”

Breternitz’ trip began with Washoe County Planning Manager Mike Harper at 8:40 a.m. Jan 23 on the North Lake Tahoe Express which left from the Summit Reno on a trip the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village.

After a quick stop there, Breternitz and Harper met Colyer and boarded the Tahoe Area Regional Transit Bus for their North Shore Transit adventure.

They rode the bus from the Hyatt to Tahoe City and transferred to another bus that took the trio to Squaw Valley and then Truckee. While in Truckee they grabbed a hot cup of Joe downtown before boarding another TART bus aimed for Northstar. Then it was off from Northstar back to the Hyatt for a late lunch.

At 4:15 p.m. Breternitz and Harper boarded the North Lake Tahoe Express for a ride back down the hill.

“It was a fun day, our intention was to get to know him,” Colyer said.

While Colyer was getting to know Breternitz, Breternitz was getting to know the transit situation on the North Shore.

“I was consistently impressed with the ridership I saw,” he said.

Colyer agreed.

“It was so perfect we couldn’t have even planned it, there were people standing in the rows,” she said.

Although Breternitz is not one of the two Washoe County Commissioners to sit on the Regional Transportation Committee that helps fund TART, he said he encouraged his colleagues Commissioners David Humke and Bob Larkin to support the North Shore transit program.

Recently RTC announced that it would cut its contribution to TART because of $4.7 million projected revenue shortfall for the agency. The RTC supports TART with about $309,000 a year.

Since, with the RTC’s support and suggestion, the Tahoe Transportation District has applied to the Nevada Department of Transportation for emergency funding to help maintain TART.

The TTD, an acting arm of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, is requesting $65,625 from NDOT to support the present level of TART service for five months. This money will bridge the gap while TTD formally applies for Federal Transit Administration Section 5311 funds, according to a letter the TTD sent to NDOT.

NDOT is still considering the application, Colyer said.

“It looks optimistic,” she said.

New trolley for Crystal Bay

In other North Shore transportation news, the Tahoe Biltmore and Boulder Bay have purchased a trolley from the TTD and plan to begin a free late night service to Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach and Incline Village come summer.

The trolley purchase was secured in October.

Boulder Bay Project Manager Brian Helm said the goal is to provide another means of transportation for Tahoe Biltmore guests, employees and other Crystal Bay visitors.

“We want to provide a safe mass transportation to get those people home when they would be leaving at night,” Helm said.

Boulder Bay is a proposed resort development on the Tahoe Biltmore and former Tahoe Mariner properties in Crystal Bay.

A route for the trolley is still being finalized as is a schedule.

TART also runs a free shuttle during the summer which ends service at midnight.

“It’s so cooperative and forward thinking,” Colyer said.

Developing the trolley system will help the Boulder Bay management team refine the Boulder Bay Transportation Program, Helm said.

“We’re going to learn through this on the transportation side,” Helm said.

The goal of the Boulder Bay Transportation Program is to create a set of options for visitors that maximizes local transportation services and minimizes the number of cars on the road.