Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System to begin winter schedule this week

The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System announced it will transition to a winter schedule for its service running on the Highway 140 corridor beginning Thursday, Oct. 1.

The Highway 140 line, which operates year-round from Merced and Mariposa to Yosemite National Park, sees fluctuation to the number of runs it makes to and from the park as the season changse, according to a Merced County Association of Governments news release.

Other YARTS routes such as the route along Highway 120 from Sonora and the service along Highway 395 and Highway 120 corridor From Mammoth Lakes are seasonal and only operate during summer months.

The Highway 120 route from Sonora will end on Sept. 30, and Highway 395 and Highway 120 corridor route from Mammoth Lakes will end on Oct. 15.

According to the release, service along Highway 41 from Fresno to Yosemite National Park was ended early this year due to September wildfires in the area.

Summer service was cut short this year due to a delayed start caused by a shutdown and temporary closure of Yosemite National Park due to COVID-19. Summer service is expected to resume from Fresno and Sonora in May of 2021 and the route to Mammoth Lakes is expected to resume in June of 2021.

Several operational adjustments that are in effect and have been made to increase the safety of YARTS passengers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased sanitation measures have been taken and all passengers are required to wear a face mask while riding YARTS, according to the release.

Additionally, capacity on all of the buses has been limited to 30 passengers in an effort to promote social distancing. Reservations are encouraged, as most of the 30 available seats are able to be reserved in advance with limited space for walk-on passengers.

Ticket reservations can be made on the YARTS website and there are no additional charges to get into Yosemite National Park on top of the YARTS fare. Passengers are not required to have a day-use permit issued by the National Parks Service to ride the YARTS.

This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 12:53 PM.