Global InformationYuma County Area Transit information
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| Parent | Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority |
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| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | 2715 E. 14th Street |
| Locale | Yuma, Arizona |
| Service area | Yuma County, Arizona Imperial County, California |
| Service type | Transit bus |
| Routes | 11 |
| Stops | 390 |
| Fleet | 28 |
| Fuel type | Diesel, Gasoline |
| Operator | RATP Dev |
| Chief executive | Shelly Kreger |
| Website | www |
The Yuma County Area Transit (YCAT) system is a public transportation system based in Yuma County, Arizona. Since 1990 the agency has grown from a new transit service offering paratransit to the current mix of fixed-route and demand-responsive services serving over 32,000 riders per month, with an annual operating budget of $2.5 million. YCAT is also the local Greyhound Lines agent.
Before 1999 only private transportation companies operated any type of transit service in Yuma County, with taxis serving the urbanized areas and private van services providing transportation between San Luis and Yuma. Paratransit in Yuma County began in February 1999. When the Saguaro Foundation began operating a public dial-a-ride system funded by Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization (YMPO) in 1996, YMPO's fixed-route service began in February 1999 with service between San Luis and Yuma under the name Valley Transit.
The name YCAT or Yuma County Area Transit was adopted in 2002, with a new system of two routes, a local route within Yuma and an intercity route between San Luis and Yuma/Arizona Western College. YCAT service between Yuma and Foothills was initiated in 2001, but the ridership was not considered high enough to justify the cost, and the system was shortened to terminate at Arizona Western College.
After a comprehensive review of the transit system by Moore and Associates, as well as financial and operating difficulties in 2003 which nearly caused the fixed-route transit system to shut down, the city of Yuma and other member jurisdictions in Yuma County contributed additional funding to the system. YMPO selected a new operating contractor, and service survived. Two routes were added to the system in 2004, and an additional route to Wellton was initiated in January 2006. Service was expanded to 10:00 pm on all routes in the system on a network of seven routes.
In 2010, again after financial and operating difficulties, reductions in funding from the State of Arizona and local member entities, which resulted in the elimination of two routes within the City of Yuma, reduction of service hours from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Saturday. YCAT came very close to closing down. However, a new operations strategy adopted by YMPO came into play to save the transit system using a reduced level of local funding from its member entities with the exception of the City of Yuma. In December 2010, a new agency - Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA) was formed to assume the operation of transit services from YMPO, which was completed on July 1, 2012. A new service delivery model was implemented on January 9, 2012, with a complete restructure of all routes to improve efficiency. Today, a total of 9 routes now operate Monday through Saturday on a fleet of 17 YCAT fixed route buses and 11 cutaways and vans.
Both demand-response and fixed-route service is administered and funded by the YCIPTA and its member agencies, and operated by a private contractor. Presently, YCIPTA owns all vehicles for fixed-route and demand-response service as well as the lease for the East 14th Street and Atlantic Avenue maintenance facility.[1]
- ^ "About YCAT". Retrieved 11 October 2012.