Amador County commuters who utilize the Amador Regional Transit System, or ARTS, may start paying an extra 25 cents for bus fare, but may also see an expansion in services. Thursday evening, the Amador County Transportation Commission heard an extremely detailed presentation from Gordon Shaw of LSC Transportation Consultants Incorporated, which looked at alternatives for a five-year Transit Development Plan for the county. Shaw began his presentation by looking at Amador County’s population statistics. He noted that Amador’s population has grown from 35,400 in the year 2000 to 38,400 in the year 2007.

18 percent of Amador County’s population is comprised of senior citizens,Amador’s major population increases over the next 20 years will be concentrated in the towns of Sutter Creek, Martell, and Jackson. He also noted a 16% increase in ARTS rider-ship from 2001, mainly along the Sutter Creek-Jackson Corridor. One expansion under consideration is an additional, faster line that would go between Sutter Creek and Jackson. The current line takes about 1 hour 45 minutes round trip, something that makes it less appealing to the general public.

At the end of the meeting, the commission unanimously voted to look at options for expansion along the Sutter Creek to Jackson Route.  many of whom rely on public transportation. The number of senior citizens is expected to grow from 6,400 now to 15,500 by the year 2030, a 142 percent increase. An additional 2.4 percent of Amador’s residents have a mobility condition, and 8 percent are below the poverty line. About 5 percent of households struggle to get around the county without access to an automobile. The Commission went on to discuss the future of the ARTS system, namely how to increase services for the general public without cutting services for seniors and disabled citizens. Shaw stated that ARTS is currently a 1.5 million dollar business, and that revenue and operating costs are about the same. He noted that