Parking lot shuttle service begins

Contact: Kevin Roark, (505) 665-0582 (00-008)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Jan. 19, 2000 -- Los Alamos National Laboratory officials have signed a contract with LA Bus system, a local nonprofit corporation, setting the stage for a parking shuttle pilot program to begin Monday.

The start of construction in November on the Strategic Computing Complex at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory necessitated the partial closure of one of the Laboratory largest parking lots, and the 800-space lot will be fully closed to parking in mid-February. Several new parking areas have been built to compensate for the loss of parking spaces, but there may be a longer walk in store for some employees. Worried about the problems for those folks who are disabled or may have to walk a long distance in inclement weather, Laboratory officials set about implementing a shuttle-bus system.

LA Bus was chosen because it is a local nonprofit and has readily available certified buses and licensed drivers. LA Bus will provide four 22-passenger "airport shuttle" type buses and commercially licensed drivers who will begin picking up and dropping off passengers at seven stops in and around Technical Area 3 starting at 7:30 a.m. Monday. Shuttle service will be provided continuously from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The route is timed so that a bus is at each stop every seven minutes. The buses are New Mexico Department of Transportation certified and will undergo standard annual NMDOT safety and operational inspections as well as daily inspections by LA Bus personnel.

"We're pleased to offer this service to employees who find themselves parking a bit farther away than they used to," said Tony Stanford, division director for Facility and Waste Operations. "We're happy to be getting the shuttle service underway prior to fully closing the SCC construction zone to parking, and we plan to continually reevaluate the system, and tweak it if necessary, in order to make it work best for everyone." The shuttle service contract is good for one year with options every six months at a cost of approximately $200,000 per year.

More news releases from the Facility and Waste Operations (FWO) Division