Since You Asked: Why did Walmart stop selling bus passes?

Q: Why did the Linda Walmart stop selling monthly passes issued by Yuba-Sutter Transit? The bus stop there is transfer point for connecting routes, including the one to the Peach Tree Clinic. Walmart certainly benefits from the established routes. Why would a store that claims to benefit the communities it serves discontinue such a vital service? It certainly appears that Walmart does not really value the dollars spent by the less fortunate residents of the community. Where will they purchase their monthly passes now?

A: Yuba-Sutter Transit Manager Keith Martin said Walmart discontinued selling tickets and passes early in January without any advance notice or explanation.

Walmart was Yuba-Sutter Transit's biggest ticket and pass outlet in Yuba County and is still the busiest bus stop, Martin said.

That leaves the Yuba-Sutter Transit office in Marysville and Yuba College as the only outlets in the county. The college does not sell tickets and passes for Sacramento routes, he said.

Martin speculated that Walmart, which volunteered to start selling tickets about two years ago, stopped because Yuba-Sutter Transit does not reimburse sellers.

"It was a corporate decision, I think," Martin said.

Predictably, a Walmart co-manager said he was not allowed to comment and — apologetically — referred questions to corporate media relations in Bentonville, Ark.

Walmart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie responded with one sentence.

"It was a business decision, however, our store will continue to be a stop on the Yuba-Sutter Transit route," Hardie said in an e-mail.

Very generous, considering quite a few customers probably arrive by bus.

Other area ticket outlets are customer service desks at the Bel-Air supermarket and the Yuba Sutter Mall, both in Yuba City.

Customers can also send checks to Yuba-Sutter Transit, 2100 B St., Marysville, CA 95901. The company's Web site is not set up for purchasing tickets, Martin said.

Martin said the company would like to find another Yuba County outlet.

In the meantime, Yuba-Sutter Transit is working with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments on a project that would put "smart cards" in riders' hands. The cards could be purchased and reloaded on the Internet, he said.

The cards, which could become available next year, would be good on participating transit systems, including Sacramento County's light-rail transit system, Martin said.

Since You Asked is published Mondays. Send questions to reporter Rob Young at the Appeal-Democrat, P.O. Box 431, Marysville CA 95901, e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat or call 749-4710.