As we close out another year, I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the progress the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) has made, and the work we have ahead. This year was defined by meaningful improvements, strong regional collaboration, and steady momentum for public transportation. That momentum reflects the commitment of our dedicated staff and the support of our Board of Directors, partners, and of course, our riders.
After several challenging years following the pandemic, our ridership continued to rebound and strengthen. In 2025, our ridership grew 30 percent over last year. This growth reinforces a simple truth, when transit is reliable, frequent, and accessible, people choose to ride.
We increased the frequency of Route 50, the backbone of our system, to 30-minute headways. This improvement enhanced reliability and made the route more convenient for workers, visitors, and residents. Route 51, a new late-night service operating Thursday through Saturday, has proven especially valuable for hospitality workers and evening visitors traveling between South Shore lodging properties, the Y, and the Tahoe Blue Event Center/Stateline. Feedback from riders and area businesses has been overwhelmingly positive.
Our on-demand paratransit service continued to provide essential mobility for community members who rely on origin-to-destination transportation. This year, the program benefited from new vehicles, improved scheduling tools, and a new user-friendly app. Our seasonal East Shore Express also completed another successful summer, reducing congestion along the NV SR28 corridor and providing a safe, efficient option for access to Sand Harbor State Park.
Improving the everyday rider experience remained a core focus, and to that extent, we replaced most of our fleet with new, clean, and efficient vehicles. We invested in technology improvements, including expanded real-time vehicle location updates through the Transit App. The ability to track buses and plan trips more accurately is a meaningful benefit to our ridership and helps build confidence in public transit.
We have strengthened our partnerships with independent operators such as South Shore Transit Management Association (SSTMA) who run the Lake-Link and Van-Pool programs by securing funding agreements with Douglas County for local funds as well as providing grant funds to support micro transit. We have partnered with the City of South Lake Tahoe in providing grant funding for EV charging facilities to support micro-transit, and finally, we are participating with all other transit providers in and around the basin in a comprehensive operational analysis led by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).
TTD is not simply a transit provider; we also provide capital planning and implementation for a variety of transportation projects in the basin. A highlight this year was the continued progress under the US Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant. This collaborative effort includes the TRPA, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP). We worked closely with these partnering agencies and other local governments to launch a pilot traffic data collection program. The program focused on analyzing traffic patterns, identifying safety issues, preparing for future V2I (Vehicle-toInfrastructure) communication aimed at improving traffic flow, safety, and efficiency, and collecting data to support long term multimodal planning. These efforts will help all agencies better manage peak visitation, improve transit and parking coordination, and increase roadway safety, through real-time traveler information analysis.
All this progress, however, would not be possible without funding. We advanced the nearly $8M awarded in 2024 for diesel electric hybrid bus replacements and began acquiring modern hybrid vehicles that cut emissions, improve fuel efficiency, and strengthen system reliability. We also secured funds from the TRPA to keep fixed transit fares free to the rider through 2026, ensuring transit remains accessible to everyone in our system. Finally, in 2025, we were successful in our pursuit of obtaining over $23M in grant funds to progress capital projects supporting transportation.
As we look to 2026 and beyond, we remain focused on building a transportation system that connects basin communities while supporting the region’s environmental goals, economic vitality, local workforce, and year-round community. Our priorities include improving service reliability, expanding sustainable fleet investments, enhancing rider experience, building multi-modal infrastructure, reducing congestion, and strengthening partnerships across agencies and jurisdictions.
I want to extend my appreciation to our riders, our employees, our Board, and our partner agencies. Together, we are building a more connected, sustainable, and accessible future for the Lake Tahoe Basin. The progress made this year provides a strong foundation to build on in the years ahead.
We wish the best for you and your families this holiday.
=Jim Marino, Executive Director, Tahoe Transportation District