DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. – Calling it a shift in paradigm, Douglas County commissioners approved a three-year agreement with the Tahoe Transportation District on Thursday to fund microtransit.

Commission Chairman Sharla Hales said the agreement will tie funding to services to Douglas County.

“Never was that money tied to any geographical service area for our residents,” she said. “I believe in Lake Link, but it was discouraging to put in that amount of money and not see increased service in Douglas County. Over the years they cleaned up some things, but never got to the heart of what we are getting for our money and what we are getting for our constituents.”

Under the new agreement, the county will pay an increasing amount to the microtransit system through the Tahoe Transportation District.

“Until this year, this money has been provided with no strings attached,” Hales said. “Now we’re contracting money for service. It’s not a contribution.”

The on-demand transit system was required as part of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s permit for the Tahoe Blue Events Center in order to reduce traffic impact.

In 2020, county commissioners approved a resolution that would essentially donate up to half of the 1-percent Transient Lodging Rental Tax collected at Tahoe Township.

Another change in the agreement is funneling that money directly to the transportation district, instead of providing it to the Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority, which owns the events center.

The agreement would provide $650,000 this year, $750,000 next year and $850,000 the third year. While that may exceed the previous half-percent in the second and third year, the tax is budgeted to raise up to $1.355 million this year.

According to the county, the program’s evolution makes it is more logical to collaborate funding through the transportation district.

Assistant County Manager Wendy Lang said there is currently $2.4 million in the fund, which also pays for snow removal and road maintenance at Lake Tahoe.

“There are not a lot of miles we need to maintain up at the Lake,” Hales said.

Commissioners indicated that they expect a full report on ridership in the Douglas portion of the Lake, annually, and at the end of the three-year agreement.

Commissioners have debated whether and how much to contribute to Lake Link’s continued operation every year since it started service in 2022.

Most recently, commissioners narrowly approved spending the remaining $450,000 of $600,000 in October 2024 to help support Lake Link.

The county commission serves as the board of the Tahoe Douglas Transportation District, which is funded from a 1-percent room tax.

That district is different from the Tahoe Transportation District, which is a separate entity that also operates Blue Go.

Lake Link is operated by the South Shore Transportation Management Association.

According to its website, Lake Link is an on-demand app-based service that goes from Round Hill and up Kingsbury deep into South Lake Tahoe. The app is available free and can be used by riders to call for a ride.