Mendocino Transit Authority

BUS SERVICE TO SONOMA COUNTY, RESTORED We are pleased to announce that service to Sonoma County is resuming on a reduced schedule. The CC Rider, Route #65 will operate 1 trip daily, Monday through Saturday from Mendocino and Fort Bragg to Santa Rosa.... Route #95 will operate 1 trip daily, Monday through Friday from Point Arena to Santa Rosa. MTA will resume service to Sonoma County on October 12th with safety protocols in place. While using MTA services passengers will be required to follow these practices: wear a face mask and practice social distancing. All MTA vehicles are equipped with automatic hand sanitizer dispensers. MTA is sanitizing and disinfecting buses daily. All MTA routes will be operating on a reduced service schedule until further notice. Visit our website to stay up-to-date at www.mendocinotransit.org or our Mendocino Transit Authority Facebook page for all service updates and changes. If you have any questions or concerns MTA is open Monday through Friday 8:00am 5:00pm. Contact us at (800) 696-4MTA.

In what year and city was public transportation first attempted? How many passengers could the largest omnibuses carry? In 1828 what US city established their own public transportation lines? ... What powered the first rail transit system? The Cable Car was invented in 1873, in what US city? The metal wheels on which vehicle kept passengers from being electrocuted? Which transportation system/type is more cost effective, efficient and most widely used? In the US, if all goes according to plan, what percent of all buses will be electric by the year 2045?

Looking Ahead: Electric and Self-Driving Buses With electric buses gaining popularity, many public transportation systems are looking to adopt these environmentally-friendly vehicles to help reduce emissions and keep city air clean. Meanwhile, New York City, Seattle, and the state of California have made pledges to transition to zero-emission fleets. If all goes according to plan, 33% of all transit buses in the United States will be electric by the year 2045. But with all of... the environmental benefits of electric buses, they can have their drawbacks. Range anxiety refers to the fear that a charge won’t hold until a route is completed or a destination is reached. Electric buses can also cost up to $300,000 more than traditional diesel-powered models, deterring many cities from making the switch. Charging ports are standard at every bus depot so that drivers can plug buses in after a long day of driving, but Proterra also adds on-route charging stations that can charge a bus in as little as five minutes, ensuring 24-hour service with little to no anxiety. And while the up-front cost can be intimidating, the lack of fuel costs for electric buses quickly makes up for the initial cost. All things considered, it’s about 2.5 times cheaper to power electric vehicles than it is to power diesel vehicles, and battery prices are expected to drop 50% by 2025, which will help to further reduce the up-front cost. Perhaps an even more exciting advancement in public transportation options is Olli, a self-driving pod that can either fill in gaps in transit routes or act as an on-demand shuttle service, all while making the roads safer and bringing public transit access to a wider range of riders. Olli has 360-degree vision, cognitive response technology, and a special obstacle avoidance system to keep her passengers safe. Plus, she’s powered by electricity. Olli has been spotted in National Harbor, Maryland; Turin, Italy; and a handful of other American and European cities. After the big leaps we’ve explored in public transportation through the centuries, we can’t wait to see where this adorable vision of the future takes us. See more

Bus Transit Today-Mass transit ridership has declined significantly over the last 100 yearsso much so that some claim its existence is largely due to tradition rather than necessity. As a car-centric culture began to emerge mid-century, it became commonplace for households to own at least one car. There was a slight pushback to this new normal in the 1960s and 1970s, with environmental concerns in most riders’ minds, but the cars won. However, there’s still plenty of need fo...r reliable public transportation, particularly in major cities with limited parking and a high cost of living. Owning an automobile isn’t always financially feasible, and public transportation offers a low-cost way to get to school or work. Knowing what an advantage it can be, many bus companies are working to make public buses more appealing, more affordable for city transit operators, and more environmentally friendlywhich brings us to the next stop on our journey. See more

The Streetcar: Transitioning into the 21st Century The year 1881 brought us the streetcar, a new development in electric-powered and rail-based transportation. Streetcars were powered by cables, which carried electric current, that were strung over their routes. Electric current was carried to the cars via an arm-like extension, and the metal wheels and metal tracks acted as grounding for the electrical circuit so that passengers wouldn’t be electrocuted by the car. Making ...the switch was simple: the rail lines already existed, and most cities simply used old horsecars with new arm attachments. Soon, new streetcar lines popped up and cities began to sprawl even further. This sprawl began a new era of city planning, where walkability was no longer a key feature and residential developments and downtown shopping centers overlapped less frequently. The invention of the streetcar gave way to the sprawling, bustling metropolises we know today: dense commercial areas in the city center with less-dense residential zones surrounding the city. And since streetcar lines often ran directly into a city’s center, these areas became prime real estate locations for luxury retail chains, million-dollar businesses, and other places that realized they could provide entertainment to a much wider audience with a transportation hub right outside of their front door. While horse-drawn carriages could only carry passengers across a few blocks, electric streetcars could cover many miles, stretching public transportation access outward and into areas that would eventually develop into city suburbs, known then as streetcar suburbs. These small towns preserved the dense, walkalbe layouts of the cities of old but also housed a single rail line into the nearest major city for easy access to the shopping, dining, and entertainment options of the big city. Streetcars were a hit and a major improvement over previous public transportation services. See more

The Cable Car: Innovation at the Cost of Safety Next up on our public transportation evolution is the cable car, an icon of transit in the United States. The idea for the cable car was conceived in San Francisco after a bystander, Andrew Smith Hallidie, witnessed a horsecar driver repeatedly whip a horse while the horse struggled to climb up a slippery hill. And in a city that’s notorious for its rolling hills, there was no doubt that other horses were also having difficultie...s. Plus, some San Francisco hills were simply too steep for horses to climb, no matter how hard they tried. In 1873, Hallidie invented a new cable-driven system that would eliminate the need for animals in public transportation. The new cable cars ran on existing horsecar rails with one modification: a moving cable between the two rails. Cars had clamps on the bottom that let them hold onto the cables when it was time to move and slowly release the cables when they had to stop. This innovation set the stage for animal-free transportation, but unfortunately, cable cars were quite unsafe. Cables were prone to snapping, and dangerous accidents throughout San Francisco’s streets were not uncommon. Cable cars quickly went out of service, though some still exist today for nostalgia’s. See more

The Horsecar and the First Rail System- Bumpy, uncomfortable omnibus rides finally became a thing of the past in the 1830s. Cities began laying smooth rails into the streets over pre-existing Omnibus routes, creating the first rail-based transit systems. The rails helped reduce friction on the wheels which made it easier for horses to pull more weight on their vehicles and, of course, made rides much more comfortable. Now, cars were accommodating three times as many passenger...s as omnibuses, and lower operating costs reduced the price to 5 cents per ridemaking the horsecars accessible to a wider range of citizens. With rides that were both affordable and comfortable, passengers suddenly didn’t mind having to travel further distances across their cities. With this ease of travel came rapid urbanization, expanded development along the fringes of major cities, and America’s new status as a forerunner of the Industrial Revolution. By the 1880s, more than 30,000 miles of street railways had been laid in the U.S. alone, accommodating over 20,000 horsecars. But horsecars certainly weren’t without their drawbacks. Horses could only work for about a two-hour stretch before becoming exhausted, so transit companies had to keep 8-10 horses on hand just to operate one car. An equine influenza outbreak in 1872 wiped out thousands of horses and prevented many commuters from traveling in a timely manner. A lack of regulation on who had the right-of-way caused a lot of traffic jams. Horses ate their weight in food every day, which was a financial burden on companies. And do we even need to mention the manure on the streets? Public transportation was here to stay, but one thing was clear: it was time to move away from its dependence on animals. See more

The Omnibus- Even in their earliest days, buses were used as rolling advertisements. A century-and-a-half and a lot of sore feet later, the year 1826 brought us the Omnibus, the first land-based innovation in public transportation (public ferry boats had been commonplace since the early 1800s). Omnibuses were horse-drawn passenger wagons that were pulled by one to three horses, depending on their size. The largest models held up to 42 passengers, and some even featured two st...ories with an open top! A double-decker omnibus, approaching its full capacity. Photo source. It was France who, again, tested this public transportation systemthis time-saving room for those without blue blood. The idea stuck, and even made its way across the pond to New York City, who had established their own omnibus line by 1828. Soon after, many U.S. and European cities followed suit. This new omnibus system wasn’t without its downsides, though. People generally considered public transportation to be a good thing, but riding on said public transportation wasn’t really a comfortable experience. Cobblestone roads made for a bumpy ride, which was further emphasized by the lack of padding on the seats. Plus, at a price of 12 cents per ride, the omnibus was still a little too expensive for many urban citizens. With time, though, the system found a middle-class audience who couldn’t afford private stagecoaches but were willing to pay to avoid walking. This audience helped the omnibus stick around long enough to start seeing some improvements. See more

The History of Public Bus Transportation- check back each day for more.... The First Failed Attempt The first person to propose the idea of a public transportation system was Blaise Pascal, who launched a handful of horse-drawn carriage routes in Paris in 1662. Known as Five-Penny Coaches, or Carosses à Cinq Sous, the carriages were initially a hit, but it only took about ten years for the hype to completely die off. And, since they were only available to the nobility and... the gentry, many commoners didn’t even get the chance to see if they liked the service. And thus, the first public transportation system was a flop. It would be 150 years before someone finally got the idea to catch on for good.

How Does Transportation Affect Health? Walkable, bikable, transit-oriented communities are associated with healthier populations. People in such communities are more physically active, have less weight gain, have lower rates of traffic injuries, and are less exposed to air pollution. Transportation is a critical factor that influences people’s health and the health of a community. Investments in sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, public transit, and other infrastructure that supports physical activity can result in improvements to individuals’ health and decreased health care costs.

#CleanAirDayCA From installing solar panels to buying hybrid buses and building energy efficient facilities, transit agencies across the country are taking leadership on sustainability. MTA has solar panels. The maintenance building is producing enough electricity to sell back to PG&E. We also have a solar canopy that produces enough to run 75% of the Administration building, with room to expand. The new Maintenance Shop building was designed and built to be energy efficient.... An example would be how the windows were designed to allow for natural lighting. MTA uses 100% recycled water and NO detergents in our bus wash bay. GILLIG Diesel buses combine optimum performance with clean Diesel technology for reduced emissions. DEF or Diesel Exhaust Fluid, is an important component in keeping heavy-duty trucks and machinery operating within federal emission guidelines. What DEF is, at a chemical level, is a combination of deionized water and urea that transform harmful nitrous oxide emissions into harmless water and gas. DEF works and it’s made from commonly available ingredients that are already being produced in vast amounts for the agricultural industry. The infrastructure is already in place." See more