YARTS is Ticket for Yosemite-bound by Aaron Williams Modesto Bee - July 30, 2000 YOSEMITE -- Rob Pinkel and his family had plans of spending a week exploring the beauty of Yosemite Valley. Their car had other ideas. As the Pinkels idled in line Monday waiting to pay the $20 entrance fee to Yosemite National Park, their 1995 Volvo began to heat up. By the time they had passed through the park gates, Rob Pinkel said he caught an unmistakable whiff of boiling antifreeze. The Pinkels pulled over, realizing this might be the start of one of those "vacation from hell" stories. However, thanks in large part to YARTS, it wasn't. The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System is a two-year project to bus people into Yosemite Valley from Merced, Mariposa and Mono counties. Conceived more than eight years ago and begun on May 19, YARTS is a partnership between the three counties. It aims to reduce Yosemite traffic. After having their Volvo towed to a garage in El Portal, the Pinkels -- Rob, Linda and Greg -- were trying to figure out their next move, when a mechanic at the garage suggested that they try taking the YARTS bus into the park. "I guess the whole purpose of coming to Yosemite is to leave the car behind," Rob Pinkel said. "We just wanted to do it on our own terms." The Pinkels, who were staying at Indian Flats campgrounds, caught the bus in front of Cedar Lodge. The circuit's main route starts at the Transportation Center on 16th Street in Merced and runs up Highway 140, making stops in Catheys Valley, two in Mariposa, the KOA campground and Yosemite Bug hostel in Midpines, and Cedar Lodge. Once inside the park, it drops off passengers at Yosemite Lodge and in Yosemite Village. "I would have to say this is the greatest thing since sliced bread," said Rob Pinkel as the bus drove past the spot where his car had given out two days earlier. "As of Monday, we would have been stuck in our cabin. Since its inaugural trip, YARTS has taken about 12,000 passengers to Yosemite, according to Jami Westervelt, the public information officer for the Merced County Association of Governments, which runs YARTS. "We're very happy with the response so far," she said. "We estimated to have about 16,000 riders in the first year. Right now we are on par with the numbers we'd expected." YARTS was free for the first month, but Westervelt said its use dropped only slightly once riders were required to pay. A round-trip ticket from the Merced depot is $15, with $3 going toward the park entrance fee. Park employees ride for free. While only 12 people -- seven tourists and five employees -- rode the Highway 140 route Wednesday, driver Tom Marshall said the idea behind YARTS should be kept alive. "It's really unnecessary to have all that traffic in the valley," Marshall said. "Yosemite should be a place free of congestion, where you can enjoy the wide-open space. When you drive up there, you still have to park your car, get out and walk." Westervelt said YARTS is already re-prioritizing its routes to be more efficient. He said the Highway 140 route will continue, but others will be scaled back, especially as winter nears. A Highway 120 route starting in Coulterville is set to remain open weekends until September. Marshall said he sees YARTS being a perfect fit for those who don't like navigating the winding roads to Yosemite, tourists who wish to backpack through the valley or people who might have only one day to visit the area. "I think YARTS is geared more for people coming up for a day trip," said National Park Service spokeswoman Christine Cowles. "We realize it's probably not designed for someone coming up on a big family camping trip. In that sense, YARTS probably wouldn't meet your needs."