Free, on-demand shuttles on the north and south shores
In the summer of 2021, Placer County and the Incline Village-Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau launched a pilot program for a free, on-demand, door-to-door shuttle service serving Tahoe’s north and west shores.
The “microtransit” service, called TART Connect, is just like Uber or Lyft – vehicles pick up within 15 minutes or less and go anywhere within the service area – but with shared rides, larger capacity vehicles and no cost to the rider.
Using the TART Connect smartphone app, visitors, residents, workers and everyone in between can request a rideshare van for curb-to-curb service in these service areas:
After a successful start in the summer of 2021, more funding was needed to keep the vans running during the fall. The League provided funding for fall 2021 service, maintaining the momentum. Past experience shows that continuity and dependability are key to maintaining ridership on alternative transportation.
Starting in July 2022, residents and visitors on Tahoe’s south shore are able to grab free, shared rides through a new, app-based, on-demand microtransit service called Lake Link, which is similar to TART Connect.
ADA-accessible vans will take you (and your bike and cooler, if you’ve got them) door-to-door in an area stretching from the the bottom of Kingsbury Grade at Stateline to the Lake Tahoe Community College/Al Tahoe neighborhood, with additional service to the Sierra Tract and Highland Woods neighborhoods and Grocery Outlet in midtown South Lake Tahoe; the Safeway in Roundhill; and up Kingsbury Grade to the Chart House (map).
The debut of Lake Link is the culmination of a multi-year effort by the League to bring microtransit to the south shore, starting with the launch of Tahoe’s first such service in 2018. In 2019, our policy experts were heavily involved in the planning stages for the Tahoe South Event Center. Through our advocacy, the Event Center is providing significant funding for Lake Link in order to minimize new traffic, parking strain and pollution that the new attraction may have generated.
The League launched the Basin’s first microtransit service in 2017.
The League was the first to test on-demand microtransit shuttles in Tahoe back in 2018. We’re excited to see this transportation option pick up steam after the Mountaineer microtransit service has been running successfully in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows since the winter of 2018. With high ridership on TART Connect and the launch of Lake Link, Tahoe is making progress toward better transportation and reduced pollution.
Once there’s a functioning network of alternative options to travel around the Basin without your car, it’ll open up non-car options to get to and from the Basin, which is good news for Tahoe’s deep blue hue and clarity. The League will continue working to protect the Lake and relieve your travel stress.
The League has recognized the traffic- and pollution-reducing potential of microtransit for several years. Beyond launching our own pilot program in 2018 and funding TART Connect in 2021, the League’s policy team was instrumental in bringing this transportation option to the south shore.
The League successfully advocated for a reliable and significant source of funding that helped create the Lake Link – the south shore’s version of TART Connect. Our policy and planning experts were heavily engaged in the planning and permitting process for the Tahoe South Event Center. As a condition of approval for the project, we secured financial support for both microtransit and managed parking, which will help reduce private car trips and pollution.
Cave Rock. Photo: Beau Rogers, Flickr CC
We also worked through the South Shore Transportation Management Association to recruit funding from numerous private partners, create an administrative structure to get the program up and running, coordinate with the shuttle operator, secure the necessary government approvals, identify a program manager, and we made a significant financial contribution to support the service. Today, we’re happy to share that this Lake-friendly transportation option is being delivered as the result of collaboration between nearly two dozen partners, administered by the South Shore Transportation Management Association.
With Lake Link’s foundation in place, we’re now working to secure new funding to expand the service area, add more vans, and electrify the fleet so it’s emissions-free.
