Douglas County OKs three-year funding deal for Lake Link microtransit, ties money to service area

Summary

Douglas County commissioners approved a three-year interlocal agreement to contribute $650,000 in FY2025–26 — increasing by $100,000 each year — toward operation and expansion of the Lake Link microtransit system, with county staff to return before any renewal to lay out long-term fixed-route and microtransit objectives.

Douglas County commissioners voted unanimously June 19 to enter an interlocal agreement with the Tahoe Transportation District to fund microtransit service in the county’s portion of the Tahoe basin.

The county will pay $650,000 from the 1% transient lodging rental tax (TLRT) collected in the Tahoe/Douglas township for fiscal year 2025–26, then $750,000 in FY2026–27 and $850,000 in FY2027–28, with disbursements conditioned on the county actually collecting sufficient TLRT revenue each year.

County officials said the contract directs funds to the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) so the county can better hold the transit provider to service commitments and to recover federal transit apportionment tied to documented ridership. Commissioners also rescinded a prior board resolution (2020R-37) that had expressed an intention to dedicate “up to one-half of one percent” of TLRT; the new contract is written as direct funding for specified service rather than an open-ended pledge.

Why it matters: Commissioners said this shifts the county’s prior unrestricted contributions to a contract for service with measurable deliverables, a step they said should improve accountability and make it easier to expand service into currently underserved…

Douglas County OKs three-year funding deal for Lake Link microtransit, ties money to service area

Summary

Subscribe to keep reading