Bus rides to Reno could be reduced next week

A Washoe County commission could reduce the number of bus trips between Carson City and Reno if cuts are approved next week.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County could cut the number of trips between the cities from nine to five to handle budget problems.

The commission will look at that plan and other ways to save money at its Jan. 16 meeting.

Trips arriving in Carson City at 8:41 a.m., 9:31 a.m., 2:35 p.m. and 7:04 p.m. would be cut if the plan is approved. Other times in the morning and afternoon would be kept to handle work traffic, said commission representative Felicia Archer.

Buses make stops at depots at the Nevada Department of Transportation on Little Lane and at the corner of North Carson Street and College Parkway.

Riders took about 3,900 trips between Carson City and Reno in November, up 15 percent from the same time a year before, Archer said.

Carson City doesn't want to lose any of the trips to Reno, but it's better than losing all, as was earlier proposed, said City Transportation Manager Patrick Pittenger.

"We understand that they are having some financial difficulties now," he said.

But rides on the Washoe County buses have been up since last year when routes overlapping with Carson City's bus service, Jump Around Carson (JAC), were cut, he said.

If service is cut, the $27,500 Carson City pays to Washoe County annually would be reduced, Pittenger said. This would give Carson City's bus system more money, he said.

"It's not that JAC is rich, either," he said.

Chuck Pope takes the 2:35 p.m. bus from Reno to Carson City two or three times a week, and he said the proposed cuts are a bad idea.

"It would really inconvenience me, that's for sure," he said.

He regularly drives to Carson City from his home in Minden, rides to Reno and then bikes to his job at a nonprofit.

For more information go to www.rtcwashoe.com or www

.ridejac.com.

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.