Bus rides and business partners

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) public transit service Citifare is celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

Citifare provides Truckee Meadows residents dependable transit for both work and recreation related travel.

Annual ridership on the transit system averages more than 7.5 million riders, uses a fleet of 70 state-of-the-art buses, and serves 27 routes.

In 25 years of service, more than 154 million passenger trips have been taken on the system.

Partnerships with local governments, the community and the private business sector are integral to our past success and our future goals.

These partnerships create jobs, stimulate our economy, create a mobile workforce and benefit our environment. Citifare began on September 18, 1978 with a fleet of six used buses serving just four routes.

As the system has grown, it has garnered five national safety awards and was named "Transit System of the Year" by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

A public agency/private business partnership with Transit Management of Washoe (TMW), a local Nevada corporation which is a subsidiary of the international company First Transit, has been integral to these achievements.

First Transit has been actively involved with Citifare since its early beginnings.

Their contract is awarded through a competitive proposal process, ensuring maximum benefit for expenditure of taxpayer dollars.

TMW maintains a staff of more than 250 local workers.

Citifare utilizes local businesses for services and supplies whenever possible, ensuring that dollars are spent here in our local economy.

Citifare is a consumer in the community.

RTC/Citifare partners with local businesses through the Smart Commute Options program.

This free service for local business promotes alternative modes of transportation or commuter options to and from work.

This program provides local employers and employees with carpool matching, onsite consulting, and a bus pass subsidy program.

The bus pass subsidy program offers workers Citifare passes at up to a 40 percent discount, using pre-tax dollars.

Employers receive a deductible normal business expense under IRS guidelines.

Eleven businesses participate in the program and more than 950 of their employees directly benefit from this program.

The future is bright for Citifare with exciting projects on the horizon.

New transit centers in both Reno and Sparks are currently in design stages.

Plans are in development for Bus Rapid Transit on Virginia Street which operates like lightrail with designated stops.

These new centers and services will improve the transit experience and provide jobs for the economy.

Our goal is to integrate these transit centers into the surrounding neighborhoods and to partner with small business to offer retail and other opportunities.

These opportunities will provide amenities and convenience for passengers while offering economic opportunity for the business community.

Our community will nearly double in size over the next 30 years.

Citifare will play a vital role in that growth by moving workers, reducing congestion and helping the environment.

Community partnerships are vital to our efforts if we are to maintain a quality environment which attracts and retains a dynamic and diverse workforce and offers business economic opportunities.

On our 25th Anniversary, I invite each of you and your organizations to partner with us.

This partnership requires only a minimal contribution on your part but will produce great benefits for everyone in the Truckee Meadows.

We ask you to leave the car at home and ride Citifare just a couple of times a month.

By leaving the car at home just once or twice a month, you will reduce air pollution, help our lakes and rivers, reduce traffic congestion and preserve our quality of life for future generations.

There are 196,000 licensed drivers in Washoe County, if these drivers took Citifare just twice a month we would reduce traffic by more than 4.5 million passenger trips a year.

There is an added personal health benefit option.

All Citifare buses have bike racks, so ride your bike to the bus.

Citifare and you: a community partnership that works!

Greg Krause has worked in multimodal transportation planning for the past 20 years, the majority of which has been at the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) ofWashoe County.