Where do old regional transit buses go when they get replaced? Two of them went to local businessman Dave Carpenter, who, after spending 11 years in the children’s party rental business, wanted to put a new spin on a saturated market. The Busy Bus is his take on modern party rentals, and he set up one bus as a video game center and another as a gymnastics and tumbling gym on wheels. Carpenter bought the buses from Davis transit in 2008. “I was trying to offer something new,” Carpenter said, adding that he launched his business in early 2009. He’d heard about a company on the East Coast that had set up a similar operation, and he said he thought the idea was intriguing. Mobile business

A new independent bus service aims to solve a problem facing many Sacramento State students: how to get to the central city restaurants and bars from the campus area on the cheap. Laura Allen, 26, said she, her sister and father are working through their family business, Allen Transportation, to provide a bus that will make a circuit with several stops around the school, downtown and Midtown on Friday and Saturday nights, starting this week. “The Sactown Hopper is a service we’re providing mainly for Sac State students right now because the pickups are around that area,” Allen said. “We’re stopping at three locations around Sac State and four locations downtown.” A list of the stops can

It’s as if the ghosts of all those who have traveled through these halls before us can still be heard... I find myself yet again walking through empty rooms that echo not only my footsteps, but the seeming sounds of the past The Sacramento Valley Station finds itself as a hub of transportation for the Sacramento area. Currently serving as an intermodal complex, the facility includes Amtrak, light rail, regional bus services and taxi amenities. The public portions of the building are those that many are familiar with such as the main hall, or passenger waiting area, where customers purchase tickets or pass through to the facilities outside to the north. Outside are the bus berths, passeng

Last week’s fatal stabbing of 68-year-old Bernice Nickson took place at a downtown Regional Transit stop. While it would be hasty to let one incident determine RT’s entire reputation, the incident does beg the question: Are Regional Transit stops hubs for crime? Alane Masui, assistant general manager of communications for Sacramento RT, said no. She said that when crimes take place on the street, transit stops are just easy landmarks to associate with the incident. “It’s more of a perception than a reality,” she said. “When something occurs, people try to put the incident in context, and transit stops serve as regional landmarks.” There are about 3,800 bus stops and 47 light rail stati

If you're wondering how budget cuts go from abstract accounting to real life, read on: Below is the list of local Regional Transit bus routes that will cease to operate in June. As part of its response to a budget crisis, Regional Transit laid off 37 employees Monday. An additional 14 employees accepted retirement incentives instead of layoffs, according to RT spokeswoman Alane Masui. Monday's layoffs are expected to be followed by further job cuts; transit system officials plan to lay off about 200 employees in the coming months, Masui said. All told, RT is carrying out $11.7 million in cuts. RT has not laid off employees since the early 1980s, Masui said, noting that the current and

Dozens of bus routes in the Sacramento region will vanish and light rail will slow down on the weekends as a result of sweeping Regional Transit budget cuts. The agency’s board of directors slashed bus, light rail and paratransit service Monday night to resolve a $10.6 million deficit. One of the major budget fixes scales back night service seven days per week. The RT board decided that light rail, bus and paratransit trips that now begin after 9 p.m. will cease. Public transportation will also be slower on weekends. Right now, light rail picks up passengers in 15-minute cycles during the weekend. The cuts mean that riders can catch the light rail every 30 minutes on weekends, explained

Retired school buses covered in hand-painted tags may be nothing unfamiliar to Oak Park, but it is not every day you see one on a mission to bring aid to Cuba. Your chance is on its way July 11 at 5 p.m. when the Caravan to Cuba makes a stop in Sacramento. The Caravan is an endeavor of Pastors of Peace to answer a humanitarian call that has been ignored by the United States for decades. The embargo of Cuba has stubbornly neglected the simple capacity a rich country such as ours has to serve and save another country in a vortex of poverty. Ravaged by hurricanes and horrific corruption, Cuba is in great need, but they are denied the vital aid of which we have a surplus. The Interreligious

"When are the Operators going to get a furlough day?" Hearing that question from one of Regional Transit's Admisistrative staffers who happens to be a close friend of mine, I had to pause and chuckle. The powers that  be at Regional Transit have taken on the arduous task of bridging a 9 Billion dollar budget defecit, and that ain't no easy fix.  Furloughs, hiring freezes, unfilled vacancies....the list goes on and on but makes nigh a dent......See, the problem lies with how Regional Transit recieves, and in turn allocates funds from the Fed's and the State. Why are we facing service cuts and possibly layoffs?  Simply put, our Operational bucket is almost empty while our Capital Bucket

On Thursday night, Sacramento's Preservation Commission held a special meeting to review plans to expand and refurbish Sacramento's historic passenger depot. The depot's environmental impact report includes two alternatives: a "move the depot" option that would involve rolling the historic building 400 feet north to meet the new track alignment, or a "don't move the depot" option that would build an expanded station between the current depot and the new track alignment. The commission was asked to provide their recommendation to City Council as to whether the city should move the station or not. Union Pacific's railroad tracks adjacent to the depot currently form a sharp S-curve that limi

Without a word of discussion, the Sacramento Regional Transit District board Monday evening unanimously approved a staff request to start the process required to cut bus service. Thirty-six weekday, Saturday and Sunday routes face reduction, realignment or elimination. Bus service cuts could begin as soon as Sept. 6. "State funding in the Public Transportation Account (PTA) has been reduced, and RT's State Transit Assistance (STA) share of funding has declined to zero beginning in Fiscal Year 2010," according to the RT staff agenda background document. "This will continue into future years. At the same time, Local Transportation Funds and Measure A funding have also declined due to the re

Got a question about the operation of Sacramento's bus and light rail system? You can take your question right to the top Friday and ask Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager Mike Wiley directly. Wiley will be answering questions in a live online web chat between noon and 1 p.m. at iportal.sacrt.com/WebApps/Onlinechat/ What was the thinking behind raising the monthly pass from $85 to $100? How is it determined where and when security personnel are assigned to the light rail? Can you make the 80 and the 84 every 30mins? Why doesn't RT offer free rides on Spare the Air days? Do you ride transit to work? Questioners are anonymous. There's no registration requirements. To participate,