Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) Management Activities - 6100

Provide planning and administrative services, through contract, to the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) Joint Powers Authority, including oversight of all of the day-to-day operations of the transit system.

Each year, over 3.5 million visitors make the trek to Yosemite National Park. Transportation demands for travel to and from the Park is tremendous during peak periods. In order to plan better public transportation, several of the counties that serve as access points to the Park have individually studied transit systems. However, recognizing the importance of working together and pooling resources, these counties have created a means by which they can more closely coordinate transit activities.

In FY 1992/93, Mariposa County proposed a long-range transportation study of the Yosemite National Park area. The concept of the study was well received. In FY 1994/95, monies were identified in the National Park Service budget for transportation planning around Yosemite National Park. In FY 1995/96, the committee requested MCAG to administer the study. Since that time, significant progress has been made on developing a transit plan for the Yosemite region. The YARTS Management Board implemented a Demonstration Project during 2000 and 2001. A Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was established between the participating entities and the JPA selected MCAG to continue to administer the project.

Today, YARTS provides not only an alternative method of traveling to Yosemite for visitors, it also provides commute options for Yosemite National Park employees and for Mariposa County residents traveling to Merced, or beyond, for work, college or other personal destinations such as shopping entertainment and medical visits. YARTS stops provide a number of locations where riders can transfer to “The Bus” in Merced for further mobility, as well as make connections with Amtrak, Greyhound and Airlines, also in Merced.

For the past four years, YARTS has contracted with Amtrak to provide its Thruway service to Yosemite Valley and communities in Mariposa County. More recently, the Thruway service was expanded to include Tuolumne Meadows and the communities in Mono County. The current Amtrak contract is due to expire in the summer of 2010, but Amtrak has expressed an interest in renewing it.

Since the problems created by rockslides and detours in 2006-07, YARTS ridership has rebounded and produced increases in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Both set ridership records. In 2009-10, it appears that another increase and record may be recorded.

Completion of a Park and Ride facility in the town of Mariposa, using funds from the 5320 Program and ARRA, and the delivery of the first YARTS-owned bus in April 2010, also purchased with ARRA funding, set the stage for more progress in 2010-11.

Discussions are ongoing regarding the possibility of YARTS service expanding into Tuolumne County and onto Hwy 41 between Fresno and Yosemite. Tuolumne County will complete their Short Range Transit Plan in the spring of 2010 and YARTS will be a part of the study. In Fresno, the Fresno COG is scheduled to conduct a feasibility study on transit to National Parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia) and the results should be available early in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

YARTS routes currently include multiple daily round-trip runs on the Hwy 140 corridor between Merced and Yosemite Valley and, also, one daily run between Mammoth Lakes and other Mono County communities, on Hwy 120 East from June through September, when Tioga Pass Road is open.

This work element provides funding for the planning, management, marketing and administrative services provided by MCAG to the YARTS JPA.

Previous/Ongoing Work:

Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System - Tasks 1-3: Regional Setting, Existing and Future Travel Projections, Goal and Objectives, 1996. Refined Transportation Options, 1997; Short and Long Range Transit Plan 1998; Formation of a Joint Powers Authority; Short Range Transit Plan, 2003.