The recommendations were suggested by Social Services Transportation Advisory Committee and endorsed by many community members. The Saturday Bus service to Kirkwood, however, is not without its controversy with some members of the public concerned if a ski bus is truly a valid expenditure of public funds.  Opponent of the idea, Robert Mees expressed that he feels the service would be too costly for “ARTS limited budget.” Mees developed a formula based upon ARTS average of the first 5 months of the 2006/2007 fiscal year’s hourly cost per bus (total ARTS expense/Bus Hours). The average cost per month is determined to be $72.91. “If you project a 12 hour day 6:30(am) - 6:30(pm), for the bus and driver running an 88 route Ione to Ione, the current estimated cost is $874.92.” This computation is reached by calculating that the “ARTS buses hold 31 people, making this a $28.22 expense for ARTS per passenger if the bus were full.” Mees states that, “If you project an average of 20 passengers per day (which Kirkwood had never been able to do with their prior effort [he adds]) that number goes up to $43.74. The maximum ‘service efficient’ per passenger is $8.00 per person.” He continues, that “From an efficiency standard $43.74 significantly exceeds ARTS' $8.00 per passenger efficiency standard. Even if the actual cost were $50 per hour (vs. average cost per ARTS hour) the cost per day would be $600. Mees reiterates his concerns regarding the fiscal feasibility of such a plan. He states “What you are proposing to do is take nearly $900 per day out of the ARTS budget. Based on an 18 week ski season, and busses running both days of the weekend, you are proposing that ARTS spend $31,000 of its limited budget to take recreational trips to Kirkwood, displacing the interests of people with true needs like the elderly, the disabled and the infirmed.”  Based on an average of 20 riders we are at a $30 per rider rate.”

ARTS General Manager Patrick Ireland agrees that while Mees’ numbers are calculated correctly they are “raw terms.” “In a vacuum Robert Mees’ numbers are accurate…however (they don’t) take into consideration the fact that only 4 hours of the 12 hour day are actually operating hours.” Ireland explained that while he is still waiting to hear back from Calaveras County on their operating costs and is continuing conversations with Kirkwood, he doesn’t expect the daily rate to be near the $900 dollars a day that Mees estimated, in fact more reminiscent of $500 a day. Ireland said that the numbers used by Mees are extracted numbers and do not take into consideration other factors.  “There’s a lot more to this that has yet to be worked out… that is my job, to work this out…what I intend to do is make this service as reasonable in cost as I possibly can.” He explained that he is “trying to figure out a way so that it doesn’t cost as much as he (Mees) is calculating… by the time I get done it won’t be $31,000.  Whatever it is it will be my best estimate at the most efficient way I can operate this thing,” said Ireland.  

Although Ireland said that after gathering the needed information if the numbers do indicate that the service will cost ARTS $31,000, then he will not suggest implementing the program due to the unreasonable costs that will be borne upon riders as well as the impracticality of the cost of such a service.