Making way for a casino remodel, Amtrak has moved
its bus stop from Harveys Lake Tahoe to the transit station near
Heavenly Village.
The change does not affect the stop at the
"Y" transit station. The stop at the Stateline-area transit station at
4114 Lake Tahoe Blvd. began Saturday. The schedule remains the same.
Harrah's
management notified the national rail service in January that it would
no longer be able to accommodate its buses running between Sacramento
and Carson City.
The casino is undergoing a $400,000 remodeling
effort in the transportation department. It plans to add more charter
buses to bring in its VIP players from Reno and Sacramento, Harrah's
spokesman John Packer said. The South Tahoe Express airport shuttle
also pulls in and out of the staging area behind the casino.
With the growing presence of Indian gaming, Packer said the move was intended to "replenish what's lost in that competition."
Among
others, Packer argued that bus service was the original intent of the
Marriott-anchored redevelopment area near Stateline anyway.
Word of the change has slowly caught on to those
who use the service. They range in numbers but average about a handful
of people on the route.
Fidel Trujillo, who was baking in the
sun on a bus bench Wednesday in the transit station staging area, said
the relocation has worked out fine with him. He simply wants to keep
the service going - especially since Greyhound Bus pulled its bus
support to the South Shore a few years ago.
Trujillo takes the Amtrak bus to Placerville and Sacramento to visit friends and warm up.
"I want to get out of winter," he said, laughing.
Although he owns a car, Trujillo thinks riding the bus is more relaxing. And it runs seven days a week.
Amtrak
spokesman Cliff Black said the rail line has remained dedicated to
providing service to the South Shore, despite its budget challenges.
President Bush's once-proposed $2.57 trillion budget that went into
effect last year removed a $1.2 billion federal subsidy for the rail
line. But through negotiations, the subsidy was written back into the
budget.
source : tahoedailytribune.com
