The Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) is the small agency that oversees the Wheels bus and paratransit services throughout the Tri-Valley. The Authority was established in 1985 under a Joint Powers Agreement to provide public transit in the cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, and unincorporated areas of Alameda County. Wheels buses began service on July 1, 1986. The Wheels service area expanded to Livermore the following year with the end of the Livermore Rideo bus line contract

When the first riders boarded a Wheel bus, public officials had already invested three years of work into LAVTA and the new transit system, according to reporting in the Oakland Tribune newspaper. Officials expected senior citizens, commuters, and high school students to make up the bulk of the ridership. The new system would serve three area high schools at rates lower than those charged by the school district, the reporting noted. Current riders might be surprised to discover that Wheels did not offer any service on Sundays or holidays when it first began.

History of Innovation

Since its creation, LAVTA officials have been dedicated to providing transit services to people with the greatest need of assistance while operating under federal regulations and with limited resources. Despite those limits, LAVTA has consistently pioneered new approaches to transit during its existence. In 1989, for example, the agency created its first institutional transit pass program for Hacienda. The groundbreaking partnership created the Hacienda’s Wheels ECO Pass program, which exists to this day and gives eligible tenants and residents free Wheels passes good for use throughout the system at any time, all year. Hacienda employees and residents have taken millions of Wheels trips since the program began.

LAVTA was recognized as the California Transit Agency of the Year for 2018 by the California Transit Association largely because of its innovative approaches to transit. The annual award is given to a California transit agency that has demonstrated improvement in the performance of its system including ridership, customer service, service expansion, and financial management. As the nomination document explained, "there are many transit systems that have implemented major route and schedule redesigns resulting in increased efficiency and ridership gains. There are several agencies that have entered into partnerships with Uber and/or Lyft to improve mobility options for their constituents. There may even be a few that have taken the lead on an interregional rail planning effort or spearheaded legislation to permit a pilot test of shared autonomous vehicle technology in transit operation on city streets. But there are probably not many organizations that have taken on all of these projects in a single year."

The agency has launched a variety of projects to better serve its riders, including partnerships with rideshare agencies to provide service in hard-to-reach areas. In 2017, the agency introduced one of the first Uber and Lyft discount programs in the nation. Now called Go Tri-Valley, the program serves riders in Dublin, Pleasanton, and Livermore who need transit in an area without bus service or where transit hours have ended. The program pays half the fare, up to $4, for up to 10 rideshare trips on Uber or Lyft each month. That program is one reason LAVTA won the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award in 2020 from the American Public Transportation Association for agencies providing four million or fewer annual passenger trips.

“This agency is exceptional with technology,” according to LAVTA Executive Director Christy Wegener. “If you compare us to other transit agencies, our buses have an impressive tech stack. We are really focused on ways to increase ridership–and by investing in technology, we are able to access data to fine tune our schedules and improve on-time performance, as well as improve the accuracy of our real-time information, which matters when we are running late.”

Observers say that LAVTA excels at analyzing local needs and responding to demand and emerging service opportunities. In 2024, LAVTA worked with County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, and WestCAT to create the One Seat Regional Ride (OSR) shared-ride paratransit program. Before the OSR program was introduced, agencies provided paratransit service coverage within their fixed route service areas only. Passengers who needed to travel across two or more service areas were forced to wait at a transit hub inside the first agency's service area until a second paratransit agency vehicle arrived to pick them up. Thanks to this pioneering program, that is no longer the case. Officials say OSR often means lower fees for riders as well as a significantly better travel experience.

Working Toward Excellence

The Wheels bus service and other LAVTA programs consistently receive high customer satisfaction ratings. A 2023 passenger survey indicated high satisfaction with the on-time performance, driver friendliness, and cleanliness of the buses. Those qualities are important to success as a transit agency. So is responsible stewardship of public funding. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), founded in 1906, represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada. LAVTA has received GFOA's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting every year since 1998. That attention to financial matters has paid off over the years. When the national economy struggled in 2009, LAVTA officials developed a variety of policies and procedures to help stabilize the agency

“We have a more robust financial plan for emergencies than most other transit agencies and that has been crucial for us,” notes Tamara Edwards, LAVTA Director of Finance. Moreover, as a smaller agency, LAVTA can respond quickly to challenges. When Covid came, for example, “we jumped right on it. We know our riders. We were able to identify the routes that essential workers needed to get to work. We knew which routes we could cut while affecting the least amount of people. We were also able to create the One Seat Ride program with our neighboring East Bay agencies, which allowed for safer regional travel for paratransit customers.”

LAVTA has been an early adopter of technology, has pioneered a variety of transit programs in the Bay Area, and is staffed by officials passionate about delivering accessible, quality public transit services to the Tri-Valley. Despite the agency’s record of accomplishments, Wegener warns that Wheels services could become more expensive and less responsive to the public if LAVTA is absorbed by a larger entity.

“Some believe that there are too many transit agencies in the Bay Area and that we should consolidate and become one,” says Wegener. “But what problem are we trying to solve with consolidation? As we reflect on our fortieth anniversary, it’s important to remember that Wheels was created because the regional transit service wasn’t meeting the local needs at that time. We do a great job of providing services to move people within the Tri-Valley, but also connecting to regional services BART and ACE. Sometimes that can be a hard balance to strike.”

Edwards agrees. “Less would happen if we were a bigger agency. We tailor things to what people in the Tri-Valley need. If we were part of a larger agency, there would be less service and the service would be based on what people in other communities need. But the people here are paying taxes, too.”

Wheels bus schedules, for example, not only reflect the needs of BART commuters but also Tri-Valley junior high and high school students. “School-related scheduling is very complicated,” notes Wegener. “Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays have one bell time. Wednesdays have a different one. Fridays are different, too. There are special events such as Rally Fridays or finals week. Everyone expects us to adjust our schedules, and we do, but it takes a lot of work behind the scenes. As a public agency, we are not a school bus provider. We have to publish all our routes and schedules online and all our services, including those supporting schools, are open to the public. I have worked for other transit agencies in California. Our responsiveness to our student riders makes us unique.”

That responsiveness includes the paratransit services provided by Wheels. Other Bay Area transit agencies do not go beyond the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “Bigger agencies don't offer the paratransit services we offer,” notes Edwards. “They follow the ADA. They deliver riders within three quarters of a mile of a bus stop only during the hours that that route is running. We go above that.”

Doing better serves the environment as well as local residents. Today, Pleasanton school routes are up 40% over pre-pandemic levels. The healthy ridership on school routes means less congestion at schools because fewer parents need to drop off and pick up students. Less auto congestion means cleaner air to breathe. There are other benefits as well, according to Wegener. “By putting kids on public buses, you give them an opportunity to learn the tools they need to become lifelong transit riders.”

LAVTA continuously experiments with improvements to its Wheels service. Currently it is testing three so-called mirrorless buses, which use cameras for the side mirrors in order to improve visibility for drivers while keeping mirrors for backup use. The agency also plans to upgrade its single express route on the 680 corridor by partnering with County Connection to provide all-day express service between Dublin/Pleasanton and Martinez, with stops in Walnut Creek and San Ramon. These are just two of many changes the agency plans to make the Wheels experience better for riders.

“We know how to partner with our sister agencies,” says Wegener. “With a supportive Board and an innovative staff, our small but mighty team of sixteen truly can get stuff done. I am looking forward to continuing to meet the transportation needs of Tri-Valley residents, many of whom don't just stay in the Tri-Valley. So we will continue to partner to provide services and fare programs to meet the needs of our riders, just as we have for the past forty years.”

For more information about the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority and the Wheels services and programs, please visit www.wheelsbus.com.

For more information about the Hacienda Wheels ECO Pass program, please visit www.hacienda.org/special-offer/Wheels%20ECO%20Pass.