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Home > Administration > History
In
1986, Livermore had a small transit system called Rideo, headed by a dedicated
woman named Barbara Shaw. At the same time Dublin was a new city -
only five years old. And Pleasanton's Hacienda Business Park housed only
one half its current level of employees.
The Early Days
The idea of one transit system
for all three cities had been discussed over the years, but as often occurs,
there was always some issues that couldn't be resolved. However,
in 1986, three city council members - Linda Jeffery from Dublin, Karin Mohr from Pleasanton and Ayn Wieskamp from Livermore - along with assistance
from the staff of member jurisdictions sat down together to make the idea
work.
After many meetings and much
discussion, a Joint Powers agency was created and named the Livermore Amador
Valley Transit Authority - also known as LAVTA. The newly formed
board was fortunate to find an experienced transit manager from the State
of Washington named Vic Sood.
Vic began from scratch to
put together a transit agency. The county donated their surplus office
furniture to the Agency. "Everything was covered with dust.
Vic's wife and daughter came in and cleaned so we could get started," remembers
Rosemary Reid, former LAVTA Executive Assistant. "The file cabinet came
in from the Police Department and was covered with 'wanted' posters. When the typewriter arrived, it was in Spanish."
Vic and Rosemary proceeded
to order equipment, leasing some buses and bringing in help to design bus
routes. Public hearings were held with much discussion on exactly
which streets the buses would use. Vic spent many hours explaining
to Valley residents how the new bus system would work.
The first year and the first
leased buses were not without problems. "The air vents on the leased
buses were stuck open," according to Karen Murry, who is still a Wheels driver. "We stuck paper products in the vents to block the air and stay warm, but every
now and then as you drove along, you'd see something go flying out of
the bus vents."
Today, Tri-Valley residents and visitors make
over 2 million trips each year on Wheels to work, school, shopping and recreation sites! As Brian Funndell, Wheels' one millionth rider for 1995-96 said, "I take Wheels because it gets me where I want to go, and besides, it's fun!"
LAVTA's Milestones
Wheels Timeline
from May 1985 to the present.
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May 1985
Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) formed by the cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton and Alameda County as a Joint Powers Authority for the provision of public transit service.
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July 1986
LAVTA initiated transit service on four (4) fixed routes in the cities of Dublin and Pleasanton with nine (9) leased buses.
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July 1987
City of Livermore’s Rideo system fully merged with LAVTA.
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April 1989
LAVTA initiated service on the Route 10, connecting the cities of Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton.
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December 1990
Thirty-four (34) new buses delivered by the Gillig Corporation.
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September 1991
LAVTA moved to a new Maintenance, Operations and Administration facility.
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January 1996
LAVTA in full compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring Paratransit service.
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June 1996
LAVTA served 1,000,000 passengers in a single year.
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May 1997
The new Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station opened. LAVTA also launched the new revamped route maps and timetables.
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January 1998
LAVTA opened the Livermore Transit Center. The intermodal center serves as the main transfer point for the Livermore bus routes and the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE).
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October 1998
LAVTA began shuttle service to the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) train at the Vasco Road and Pleasanton ACE stations.
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January 1999
LAVTA started the new Route 70X Express bus between Pleasanton and the Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill area.
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May 2001
LAVTA served its’ 2 millionth passenger in a single year.
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April 2004
LAVTA introduced its Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) System, bringing space age technology and accuracy to the systems’ operations. Enhancements include the availability of customers to access “Real Time” transit information via the internet, which is also displayed on electronic digital signage aboard the bus, and at the Livermore Transit Center.
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January 2005
LAVTA won the FTA “Top Website 2004” Award. Evaluation criteria included the posting of information, such as route and system maps, schedules, trip planning services, fares and other useful information and links.
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March 2006
All Nighter bus service began, which runs from approximately midnight until 5 AM, when BART trains are not running.
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July 2006
LAVTA celebrated 20 years of successful operations.
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August 2007
Route 70X expanded to include Walnut Creek Kaiser Hospital.
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January 2008
Broke ground on Satellite Bus Facility on Discovery Drive in Livermore.
Some of the above information
from "Wheels - 10 Years of Service 1986-1996."
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