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The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) is a
First proposed in 1992, YARTS was designed as a way to reduce traffic and increase accessibility to Yosemite National Park. In May 2000, after 8 years of planning, the bus line officially commenced service along Highway 140 providing access to Merced and Mariposa counties. The service was billed as a two-year demonstration project, operating only in the peak summer months (May through September), and was expected to attract 18,000 round-trip passengers. Ridership fell short of expectations, attracting 15,956 riders. Critics also pointed out that over two-thirds of the riders were not paying customers, taking advantage of free rides offered during the first two months of service or were employees inside the park, who had their fares covered their employers. Despite the criticism, one year into the demonstration, YARTS was made a permanent service.
To date, the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System has provided over 1,000,000 rides.
On May 23, 2015, YARTS began operating on Highway 41 between Fresno and Yosemite.
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...
bus line based in Merced, California
Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on Apri ...
providing scheduled fixed route service between Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
and gateway communities. Service operates year-round on Highway 140, providing access to Merced and Mariposa counties. During the peak summer months (May through September), additional service is added along Highway 120 providing access to Tuolumne County, Highway 41 providing access to Fresno and Madera counties, and eastern Highway 120/ US 395 providing access to Mono County.
YARTS is operated by a joint powers authority
A joint powers authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some U.S. states, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts), not necessarily located in the same state, may jointly e ...
(JPA). The YARTS JPA is governed by a board that includes elected representatives from the counties that buses travel through. The JPA contracts with the Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) to provide day-to-day management of the service and contracts with First Transit to operate the service and maintain the buses.
History
First proposed in 1992, YARTS was designed as a way to reduce traffic and increase accessibility to Yosemite National Park. In May 2000, after 8 years of planning, the bus line officially commenced service along Highway 140 providing access to Merced and Mariposa counties. The service was billed as a two-year demonstration project, operating only in the peak summer months (May through September), and was expected to attract 18,000 round-trip passengers. Ridership fell short of expectations, attracting 15,956 riders. Critics also pointed out that over two-thirds of the riders were not paying customers, taking advantage of free rides offered during the first two months of service or were employees inside the park, who had their fares covered their employers. Despite the criticism, one year into the demonstration, YARTS was made a permanent service.
To date, the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System has provided over 1,000,000 rides.
On May 23, 2015, YARTS began operating on Highway 41 between Fresno and Yosemite.
Operation
YARTS is operated by ajoint powers authority
A joint powers authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some U.S. states, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts), not necessarily located in the same state, may jointly e ...
(JPA). The YARTS JPA is governed by a board that includes two elected representatives from each of the five counties (Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, and Tuolumne) that buses travel through. , Fresno County has been extended an invitation to join the JPA if it chooses to fund the service.
The YARTS JPA contracts with the Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) to provide day-to-day management of the service and contracts with First Transit to operate the service and maintain the buses.
YARTS has an interline agreement with Amtrak Thruway
Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...
and Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...
. Amtrak offers through-ticketing between its '' San Joaquins'' trains and the YARTS routes, branding the Highway 140 route as Thruway Route 15A and the Highway 41 route as Route 15B.
Routes
References
External links
* {{Merced, California Bus transportation in California Transportation in Merced County, California Merced, California Transportation in Mariposa County, California Transportation in Mono County, California Transit agencies in California