Amador County - During their February 18th meeting, the Amador Regional Transit System Board of Directors honored retiring General Manager Patrick Ireland for his many contributions to transit in Amador County. Even though official retirement is only a day away, the 24 year veteran of all things transportation has been making the rounds among local media outlets to announce improvements to the transit system. In an exclusive interview with TSPN, Ireland outlined the many ways ARTS is continuing to improve. Under Ireland’s leadership, the ARTS ridership grew from 50,000 a year to over 105,000 a year. Ireland was also instrumental in establishing expanded transit service to Sacramento, the Sacramento Airport and Calaveras County. Most importantly, ARTS has maintained an excellent safety record; on average 30 percent lower than statewide averages. “ARTS has maintained an industry leading safety record and an image of clean and friendly service throughout Mr. Ireland’s service,” reads the resolution. Finally Ireland has led funding and constructing the ARTS maintenance and operations facility in Martell. He said that upcoming programs include two weeks of free service beginning March 1st to coincide with new ARTS bussing schedules. He also announced a new service that will allow Internet access by laptop on all ARTS busses. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.