BlueGo changes delayed

Proposed emergency changes to BlueGO routes will be postponed until early September.

The South Tahoe Area Transit Authority board, which oversees BlueGO, voted Friday to continue discussing the emergency changes on Aug. 28. Proposed changes would be finalized at the Sept. 1 South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting.

The transit board originally intended to approve route modifications for implementation Aug. 23.

"It's a worthwhile delay so we have 100 percent of the information," South Tahoe Area Transportation Agency member Stacy Dingman said.

Some of the routes that might be reduced include the express route between Gardnerville and Stateline, limited service to Carson City and combining rural flex routes.

BlueGO Transit Administrator John Andoh said the changes were due to a decline in anticipated revenues, and a result of higher than anticipated costs related to transit operations. STATA needs to reduce expenses, and that includes additional service reductions.

"We do not have the luxury of dragging this on for another month," STATA Treasurer Randy Conroy said.

Conroy said he alerted the board that BlueGO's budget needed to be reviewed.

"We were in trouble two months ago and it's even worse than it was," Conroy said.

STATA board member Rick Angelocci and Dingman attended a BlugGO drivers meeting Thursday. About 30 drivers attended.

Angelocci said the drivers, who have not been included in previous route change discussions, represent an important contingent and have valuable input that needs to be taken into consideration when making changes.

"These guys are out there," Angelocci said. "Although this might look good on paper, it might not be good for the routes."

Dingman said everyone at the drivers meeting was "articulate and provided a lot of feedback." She said that the drivers planned to submit a formal recommendation to the board within two weeks.

During public comment, Gini Kluender-Higgins said some of the routes should be modified to address South Shore's needs.

"This is not San Jose, this is not L.A., this is Tahoe," said Kluender-Higgins, who spoke as a private citizen. "We don't need to shove a square peg in a round hole."

Kluender-Higgins is a BlueGO bus driver, but said she was speaking as a rider during the public comment period.

MV Transportation has the tools and resources to improve the system, and Andoh has worked tirelessly to implement improvements, Kluender-Higgins said.

"We can blend together all the good things and move this forward," Kluender-Higgins said.