Y-S Transit balks at OK'ing bus stop

Plumas Lake commuters will have to wait a while to get a bus stop near their homes to catch a Yuba-Sutter Transit bus to Sacramento.

Transit directors last week put off approving a stop to serve Plumas Lake residents. Yuba-Sutter Transit currently operates morning and mid-day commuter runs to Sacramento.

Establishing a bus stop in Plumas Lake, given there are no commercial areas in which to set up such a stop, would result in “time consuming, unwieldy and possibly even unsafe operating conditions,” a staff report said.

It also noted that, based on surveys, there is a “relatively small number of potential riders.”

Transit Manager Keith Martin said in his report that the transit agency sent a request for comment to about 375 e-mail addresses for current and potential commuter passengers outlining various service scenarios involving a Plumas Lake stop.

Among 30 regular or occasional passengers living along Highway 70 who responded, five of the six who supported the stop now board the bus in East Nicolaus or Linda.

Another five current or future Plumas Lake residents not currently using one of the commuter buses voiced support, but expressed concern over whether Sacramento arrival and departure times would meet their needs.

Peak one-way ridership on Highway 70 commuter schedules average between 70 and 80 passengers a day.

The staff report said the only option for a bus stop that was agreeable to both Yuba County and transit officials would have resulted in the bus having to make a “questionable” U-turn on Feather River Boulevard three-quarters of a mile west of River Oaks Boulevard.

Martin said in the report that “a more significant and costly alternative would be to implement a limited service that would begin and end in Plumas Lake.” It said that while there is currently no budget for Plumas Lake service, it could be an option in the future as the area grows.