A bus service is coming to link downtown Reno, Sparks by 2016

A planned transit operation providing rapid bus service linking the downtowns of Reno and Sparks was lauded Tuesday as a national model that will help revitalize the economy of an area still recovering from recession.

Local, state and federal officials joined business representatives and community activists to celebrate successful acquisition of funding to establish bus rapid transit along the 4th Street/Prater Way corridor, an operation expected to be rolling in 2016.

“It’s connecting the community to opportunities,” said Victor Mendez, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, who attended Tuesday’s event at the Regional Transportation Commission’s 4th Street Station bus terminal in Reno.

The government recently awarded the RTC a $16 million grant to partially fund the bus service, which would be similar to the bus rapid transit service operated along Reno’s Virginia Street since 2009. The RTC is seeking additional funding to pay for the entire project, expected to cost $52.5 million.

There would be differences between the new system planned along a 3.6-mile stretch of the storied Lincoln Highway and the one already running along Virginia Street, among them use of yet-to-be purchased all-electric buses of the same type already being used in a pilot project in downtown Reno. Four additional electric buses would be purchased for the 4th Street/Prater Way service.

Ryan Popple, chief executive officer of the manufacturer of those buses, Proterra, Inc., praised Reno-Sparks for furthering the use of clean, cutting-edge transit technology.

“We’re celebrating what we think is a second step here today,” Popple said. “This is a national and global opportunity but Reno is one of the first places it started.”

The plans are in line, Popple said, with the recent announcement that Northern Nevada will be home to Tesla’s planned $5 billion battery plant for electric cars, an operation expected to employ up to 6,500 while emphasizing reliance on green energy.

“We want to be part of a future where you’ve got a lot of job growth ... and you’ve got a sustainable way of getting people to and from work,” Popple said.

Growth and economic gains associated with Tesla and other changes expected in the Truckee Meadows and surrounding areas will be well served by the new transit service that will better connect Reno and Sparks, said Sparks Mayor Geno Martini.

“This corridor will improve transportation and quality of life for our residents,” Martini said. “I believe we are on the right track here and I can’t wait to see the project open in the coming months.”