Bus from Carson City to Reno-Tahoe Airport: $3

The new PRIDE bus system between Carson City and Reno was designed primarily for commuters, but riders on the first day gave a clear signal that Reno-Tahoe Airport will be a destination for many.

Monica, a Carson City resident who asked that her last name not be used, often flies to Houston and Hawaii to visit her children. She scouted out the bus route Monday morning on the 6:30 a.m. bus and planned to ride the 5:30 a.m. bus this morning to fly to Idaho.

"I wanted to find out how to get to the airport," Monica said while riding the white-and-blue PRIDE bus on her return trip from Reno. "I think I'm going to try it (today) ."

Questions about the airport arose frequently on the Monday morning buses, said Tina Wu, associate planner with the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission.

Here's the public transit route from Carson City to Reno-Tahoe Airport:

- Board a PRIDE bus in Carson City at Wal-Mart, Koontz Lane (Raley's), Stewart Street (Nevada Department of Transportation or Supreme Court), Robinson Street (Carson Nugget) or North Carson Street (Safeway or JM Furniture).

- Ask for a free transfer to a Citifare bus.

- Ride PRIDE to the end station at CitiCenter in downtown Reno.

- Transfer to a Route 13 bus on Citifare.

- Ride Route 13 to the airport, which is its end station.

There is a 7-minute cushion between PRIDE's arrival at CitiCenter and Route 13's departure. Route 13 runs every 30 minutes on the 15th and 45th minutes.

PRIDE allows an adult to get from home to the airport for only $3. Senior citizens pay just $1.50 and youths pay $2.

Travelers can even get a free ride from home to a bus stop by calling Carson City Community Transportation at 887-2323 at least 24 hours in advance.

Barney and Mary Grigg of Carson City welcome the total $6 it will cost to get to the airport and back.

"We fly a lot," Barney Grigg said. "We were just away for three weeks and when we got back we found a parking bill of $180."

Granted, public transit is a bit slower than the half-hour or so drive to the airport. The PRIDE/Citifare combo - if PRIDE arrives downtown on time - takes 1 hour and 41 minutes.