Placer County agency recommends faster routes and more Dial‑A‑Ride hours for Lincoln

Mike Costa of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency presented a draft Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) to the Lincoln City Council on July 23, outlining proposed changes intended to improve transit frequency and regional connections.

The COA recommends doubling the frequency of Route 20 from hourly to every 30 minutes, an operational change PCTPA estimates would cost the City of Lincoln about $37,000 a year and yield roughly 5,800 additional annual boardings. For Lincoln-specific service, the draft suggests rerouting Route 70 to a park‑and‑ride off Lincoln Boulevard/Industrial and extending service to better serve First and Third Streets and Joyner Parkway at an estimated incremental cost of $13,000 annually and a projected 1,100 new rides.

PCTPA also proposed adding roughly four weekday Dial‑A‑Ride service hours (effectively increasing Lincoln’s Dial‑A‑Ride fleet from two to three vehicles) at an estimated cost to the city of about $105,000 a year. PCTPA said those extra hours would address capacity issues during peak periods and help serve growing western portions of Lincoln where fixed routes are not recommended at this time.

Costa said the draft plan would increase annual ridership in Lincoln by about 8,400 boardings and raise total Lincoln transit costs by roughly $155,000 annually. He noted Placer County Transit applies credits for state, federal and other alternative funds before billing Lincoln; for FY23–24 the system cost was about $1,000,000 and Lincoln’s net share about $450,000 after credits. PCTPA staff estimated Lincoln could expect roughly $633,000 in average credits over the next three years, which would offset a portion of any new service costs.

Council members pressed staff on funding sources, asking whether local Transportation Development Act (TDA)/Local Transportation Fund (LTF) dollars would be required. Costa explained TDA rules can force LTF and State Transit Assistance funding to be used exclusively for transit if county population exceeds 500,000; if that threshold is crossed and regulations stay unchanged, Lincoln’s ability to divert LTF to streets and roads could end.

Council and residents raised questions about feasibility for commuter service into Downtown Sacramento. Costa said the RapidLink pilot — an express service connecting Lincoln to Roseville and the Watt/I‑80 Light Rail station on a 30‑minute cycle — was funded as a multi‑year pilot and would be evaluated for long‑term viability; a direct run to downtown Sacramento is not currently considered feasible without further study. He added that PCTPA is in active public review of the COA through mid‑August and that any service changes would require separate approvals by PCTPA’s board, Placer County Transit’s operators and the City of Lincoln.

The COA materials and draft service maps are available for public review on PCTPA’s website during the public comment period.