Board of Supervisors Approves Funding for Microtransit Pilot during Tourism Season, Placer County, CA, 2021

The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved $465,000 to fund a free on-demand microtransit pilot through Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART), which serves the North Tahoe region in California. The pilot will operate from July 1 through September 6, a peak tourist season in the area. Customers can request point-to-point rides through a proprietary app or by phone and can use the service to connect with buses in TART’s network. Squaw Downtowner, LLC will serve as a contractor for this service by providing the software, drivers, and fleet of eight small transit vehicles. This service is projected to complete about 350 trips per day during the pilot period.

As tourism is expected to increase this summer as the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to subside, Placer County and TART see this microtransit pilot as part of a larger effort to mitigate congestion and other negative transportation impacts. It will be important to observe what initiatives Placer County employs beyond this pilot, especially outside of the COVID-19 public health emergency and during winter tourist seasons as well.

Last updated April 12, 2021