4-year-old YARTS is Working Wonders for Yosemite Valley Travelers

by Paul McHugh
San Francisco Chronicle - December 4, 2003

Yosemite Valley is not just a showcase for geologic grandeur. It has also been a wellspring for ecologic vision. John Muir, David Brower and Ansel Adams all nurtured their perceptions and values there. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, as well as foreign visitors, still seek to touch the timeless in nature when visiting.

That, paradoxically, has turned the place into a modern transportation hub. One spoke is the use of mass transit -- such as the 4-year-old YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System).

The National Park Service (NPS) has struggled to integrate its missions of preserving and celebrating natural resources, while making them accessible. In this wrestling match, the NPS hasn't lacked opponents. Environmental groups have lobbied strenuously to reduce auto traffic -- and the attendant problems of air pollution and vehicle crowding upon the valley floor. Many merchants in surrounding communities have shoved back just as hard for unrestricted auto access, believing this enhances both park visitation and their volume of business.

A bone of contention has been the NPS plan to create outlying ("satellite") parking areas, and a shuttle-bus service from these sites into the park. A local Congressman recently introduced a bill to ban this scheme, and banish it from the park's current working document, the "Valley Plan."

But while the Valley Plan's satellite/shuttle system lurches toward an uncertain fate, another transportation system is already in place, utilizing outlying communities such as Mariposa, Midpines, El Portal and Merced as de facto satellite lots -- but ones that come pre-equipped with plenty of restaurants, shops and hotels. (In summer, travel from Mammoth and Lee Vining is also available.)

YARTS began to run in 2000 with participation by five adjacent counties. Only three counties -- Mono, Mariposa and Merced -- remain involved. Supposedly, Tuolumne and Madera counties dropped out because they regarded YARTS as a stealth step toward the Valley Plan; the cost of local subsidies for the system might also be implicated.

YARTS' total budget is $1.6 million. Operations cost is $894,000, and $189,000 comes from the fare box (twice the 10 percent level considered good for a rural system). In addition to federal subsidies, the counties contribute $147,000 (Mariposa), $50,000 (Merced) and $21,000 (Mono).

What the participating counties get is an easy way for Yosemite visitors and workers to scoot in and out of the park, for rural college students to commute to Merced, for international travelers to arrive in Merced by train or bus -- then set out for the fabled hills.

In summer, after the Tioga Pass route opens, hikers can leave their cars at Tuolumne Meadows or the valley floor, then use YARTS to complete the shuttle after their outing. In winter, the first YARTS run arrives at Yosemite Lodge 20 minutes before the first free shuttle goes up to Badger Pass ski area.

Round-trip fare is just $20 from Merced, $10 from Mariposa and Midpines, $7 from El Portal, and includes a park day-use fee. That might explain why the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal is the second-largest seller of YARTS tickets in the entire system.