Community Corner
"Wheels" Reaches Four Million Riders
Commuter bus system reached its four-millionth rider mark for workers and students in the Hacienda area
Whoever said there’s no such thing as a free ride must not have used the Wheels bus service’s ECO pass.
The bus service on Monday celebrated reaching four million riders in the Hacienda Business Park Owners Association’s area alone.
People who live or work in that area, which includes the on Rosewood Drive in Pleasanton, surrounding business, and surrounding neighborhoods, are eligible for the bus service’s free ECO pass. The bus is operated by the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, or LAFTA, and it connects to BART and other regional transit systems.
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The lucky rider was Susan Patterson of Suisun City. Her free ride earned her a 32-gigabyte Apple iTouch, a shirt, and a$50 iTunes gift card.
“It’s great. I’m shocked,” Patterson said before she accepted her gifts and hopped on the bus.
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“I always take public transportation.”
Patterson relies on her ECO pass to connect with the Solano Express for her long daily commute to and from work at AT&T in the CarrAmerica Corporate Center in Pleasanton. She connects with the Solano Express, a service that costs her $130 a month.
She touted Wheels as a great bus system and even called her driver, who she knows by his first name after riding the bus for two years, the best driver around.
“The goal is to increase mobility,” Paul Matsuoka, executive director of the transit authority, said about Wheels. “It helps get people to jobs.”
Students at and high schools who live in the Hacienda area rely on Wheels to commute to school as well, said LAFTA Marketing Specialist Rosemarie Booth.
Wheels is also good for the environment, Matsuoka said. He estimated that Wheels has helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the area by 15 billion pounds since 1989.
Patterson is one of about the 20,000 riders who rely on Wheels in the Hacienda area, said James Paxson, the general manager for the Hacienda Business Park Owners Association.
“It’s very popular, we’ve had enormous participation (among workers and residents),” Paxson said. “Nothing beats free public transit.”
Anyone who lives or works within the Hacienda Business Park Owners Association’s area can sign up for an ECO pass by going to www.hacienda.org. Click on the Services tab before clicking on Commute Solutions and Free Wheels Pass.
