Ribbon cutting ceremony welcomes Chariot to the community

Chariot, the new microtransit service in South Lake Tahoe, was officially welcomed to the community Tuesday during a Tahoe Chamber ribbon cutting ceremony with representatives from the League to Save Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the City of South Lake Tahoe and chamber members.

They began their three-month trial period on July 9 with a week of free service, and now their 14 passenger vans can be seen transporting riders from Lakeview Commons to Stateline 12 hours a day.

Chariot is a member of the Ford Motor Company family. Ford Smart Mobility LLC was formed in 2016 to design, build, grow and invest in new mobility services; a move that came as Ford expanded its business model to be both an auto and a mobility company.

The new company is reinventing transportation with a microtransit solution that is fast, reliable and affordable for people living in cities including San Francisco, New York, Austin, Seattle, Columbus and London, and now, South Lake Tahoe.

"This is a great example of partnerships," said the League to Save Lake Tahoe Executive Director Darci Goodman Collins, PhD. "They can fill the gaps in the current service with their new, innovative solutions. By bringing microtransit to South Tahoe, we’re making Tahoe a laboratory for testing the next generation of transportation solutions.”

Both the League and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, as well as other agencies, have been working together for years to find solutions to traffic issues in Tahoe.

After their 90-day trial period, Chariot would like to become a year-round solution in the community according to Leonie Swart, Chariot's Enterprise Account Manager who is based in South Lake Tahoe this summer.

Besides their Stateline to Lakeview Commons route, Chariot is also running beach goers from Stateline to Round Hill Pines.

To ride the microtransit shuttles, people can download the app from chariot.com/download. Riders book a seat using the app and then show their mobile device to the driver. Rides are $3 each.

The shuttles run from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Sunday - Thursday, and 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday - Saturday. They can be used one-way to concerts at the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena and then riders can take Blue Go the other direction ($2) to avoid traffic congestion at Stateline.

Data will be collected by Chariot to aid in future transit discussions and decisions.