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Wheels (California)

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Wheels is a public bus service in the Tri-Valley region (southeast Alameda County) of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It is operated by the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA). Wheels operates local and limited-stop service in Dublin, Pleasanton, and Livermore, with limited service into Contra Costa County along Interstate 680. The LAVTA was formed in 1985; service began in Dublin and Pleasanton in 1986. In 1987, it took over the 1978-opened Rideo service in Livermore. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,289,600, or about 4,800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

Wheels bus at Livermore station in July 2024
ParentLivermore Amador Valley Transit Authority
FoundedMay 1985
Headquarters1362 Rutan Court, Suite 100
Livermore, California
Service areaTri-Valley
Service typeBus service, paratransit
Routes27
Stops~500
DestinationsLivermore, Dublin, Pleasanton
HubsDublin/Pleasanton station, Livermore Transit Center
Fleet74 buses
Daily ridership4,800 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[1]
Annual ridership1,289,600 (2023)[2]
OperatorMV Transportation
Websitewheelsbus.com

Routes

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As of March 2024, Wheels operates 15 regular routes. This includes two Rapid routes (10R and 30R) with limited stops and frequent all-day service, and three express routes (20X, 70X and 580X) with limited peak-hour service. Fifteen additional routes, numbered 501–504 and 601–611, operate a small number of trips to serve schools.[3] The primary transfer hubs are at Dublin/Pleasanton station (served by BART) and Livermore Transit Center (served by ACE).

  • 1 Gleason/Hacienda
  • 2 East Dublin/Fallon Middle School
  • 3 Stoneridge
  • 4 Central Dublin
  • 8 Hopyard
  • 10R Pleasanton-Livermore
  • 14 Pleasanton-Livermore
  • 15 Springtown
  • 18 Granada
  • 20X Vasco
  • 30R Dublin-Livermore
  • 53 Stoneridge
  • 54 Hacienda
  • 70X Pleasant Hill
  • 580X Airway

History

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A preserved Rideo bus in 2019

Rideo local bus service in Livermore began on August 7, 1978.[4] In 1984, Dublin and Pleasanton began planning a local bus system, which Livermore was initially apprehensive about joining.[5][6] In May 1985, the three cities plus Alameda County formed the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) as a joint powers authority.[7] The Metropolitan Transportation Commission provided initial funding in September 1985.[8] The new bus service, branded as "Wheels", began operating in Dublin and Pleasanton on July 1, 1986. It initially had nine buses operating on hourly headways, which ran on weekdays and Saturdays but not Sundays.[9][10] Rideo was merged into Wheels in July 1987.[7]

A new maintenance facility was opened in September 1991, serving the 34 buses delivered the previous year. Paratransit service began in January 1996. Wheels began connecting to regional rail service with the introduction of BART service to Dublin/Pleasanton station in 1997 and ACR service to Livermore in 1998. Route 70X service between Dublin/Pleasanton and Walnut Creek began in January 1999.[7] Until June 27, 2009, Wheels operated All-Nighter route 810 between Bay Fair station and Livermore.[11]

In 2004, the BART I-580 Corridor Transit Study found that a BART extension to Livermore would not be feasible. Instead, the report recommended a rapid bus network serving the Tri-Valley.[12] Construction on the "Tri-Valley Rapid" project took place from November 2009 to December 2010.[7] Service on route R, which ran between West Dublin/Pleasanton station and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via Dublin, began on January 24, 2011.[13] The weekday-only route operated every 10 minutes at peak and 15 minutes off-peak.[14] It included some bus rapid transit elements like wider stop spacing, signal priority, and queue jumps.[15] On August 13, 2016, local route 10 was converted to Rapid route 10R. It ran between Dublin/Pleasanton station and Livermore via Pleasanton. Route R was rerouted via Las Positas College and renamed route 30R at that time.[16][17] By 2019, the two Rapid routes represented half of Wheels ridership.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Routes & Schedules". Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "Not LART, it's 'Rideo'". Oakland Tribune. August 2, 1978. p. 45 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tri-valley bus plans get rolling". Oakland Tribune. September 9, 1984. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "City won't join valleywide bus plan". The San Francisco Examiner. April 24, 1985. p. 115 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d "Facts and Figures" (PDF). Livermore/Amador Valley Transit Authority. January 2013.
  8. ^ "Transportation panel to kick around Kopp's merger idea". The Peninsula Times Tribune. September 28, 1985. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Miller, John (April 19, 1986). "Dublin–Pleasanton buses should be running by July". Oakland Tribune. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tri-Valley Wheels to start turning with a communitywide celebration". Oakland Tribune. June 25, 1986. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Wheels Announces Phase II Service Reductions Effective June 27, 2009" (Press release). Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. May 27, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
  12. ^ Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates (January 2005). Technical Supplement 4: Livermore/Amador Valley "Rapid Bus" Plan (PDF). BART’s I-580 Corridor Transit Study Phase 2 Final Report (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2011.
  13. ^ "Launching Monday, January 24, 2011: A New Transit System for the Tri-Valley". Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011.
  14. ^ "Route Map and Schedule". Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
  15. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
  16. ^ "Wheels increases bus service to Dublin/Pleasanton Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. August 19, 2016.
  17. ^ "Wheels Bus Service Rolls Out More Direct and Frequent Routes Effective August 13, 2016" (Press release). Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. August 13, 2016. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016.
  18. ^ FY24 - FY28 Short Range Transit Plan Prepared for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission by the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (PDF) (Report). Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority. November 2022. p. 3.
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