Incline Village, NV…Since its launch in late June, the TART Connect micro-transit service has delivered more than 10,000 rides to visitors and residents in the Incline Village Crystal Bay area. The project’s popularity has made a meaningful impact on sustainability and accessibility in the region.

“We are thrilled with the early results from TART Connect,” said Andy Chapman, President/CEO of the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau (IVCBVB). “Our goal in supporting TART Connect was to provide a convenient and easy-to-use service for visitors and residents alike that would contribute to our regions’ sustainability goals. The early results in terms of ridership and trip miles show this has been an outstanding success.”

IVCBVB provided nearly $200,000 to fund TART Connect in the Incline Village and Crystal Bay area. The Tahoe Transportation District provided the operating authority while the Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association has provided operational oversight. The on-demand, app-based service allows visitors as well as residents of the region to call for a ride — free to users — from anywhere within one of three service areas within North Lake Tahoe.

As of July 26, TART Connect delivered over 17,600 passenger miles worth of rides in Incline Village and Crystal Bay with an average wait time for pickup of just 13 minutes. Passengers who completed a survey following the use of TART Connect rated their experience 4.84 out of 5.

“By making it easy for our residents and visitors to access convenient transit options, we are able to reduce the number of cars on the road which benefits all of us, especially during a busy summer tourism season,” said Chapman. “As we continue to study these early results, we will continue to work to improve the transportation services to meet the needs of the region.”

IVCBVB will continue to work with its partners to analyze the trip and ridership data to understand how residents and visitors are using TART Connect and how best to optimize the service and support the overall sustainability goals of the IVCBVB and the region.

For information on TART Connect go to https://tahoetruckeetransit.com/tart-connect/