STATELINE, Nev. – Microtransit services in the Tahoe area of Douglas County will now be under the purview of Tahoe Transportation District, following TTD board approval during its Monday, August 11, meeting. 

While the immediate implications of the agreement between Douglas County and TTD won’t be felt by riders, it will likely lead to more transit dollars coming to the basin in the future. 

The microtransit program known as Lake Link was started in July 2022 by the South Shore Transportation Management Association (SSTMA). Funding for the program came from the Douglas County Transient Lodging Rental Tax and was allocated through the Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority. 

Lake Link has proven successful, but because it’s operated through a private organization, ridership numbers can not be counted and reported to the Federal Transit Administration. Therefore, the popularity of the program is not reflected in the federal dollars allocated to TTD each year based on ridership. 

The new agreement between Douglas County and TTD will allow TTD to report ridership numbers to the federal government. 

According to TTD Executive Director Jim Marino, this would add about 250,000 more riders, which could result in an additional $500,000 of federal funding. 

Marino described the work of the agencies in leveraging partnerships for more federal funding as “groundbreaking.” 

“Transit here is free, so we need all the federal funding help we can get,” Marino said. 

Douglas County Commissioners also approved the agreement during their July 17, 2025 meeting. 

The TTD board will be asked to approve an amended agreement with SSTMA during the September meeting.