Re: New shuttle bus routes in the Valley.

Am I reading the new shuttle bus routes map wrong or now (effective 5/17) in order to get from Yosemite Lodge to the east end of the Valley (or Yosemite Village) you can no longer catch that bus across the road from the Yosemite lodge registration building but have to catch it in front of the building and go west all the way down to El Cap crossover and then east back past Sentinel and Cathedral picnic areas to Housekeeping Camp and then Camp curry, etc.? And unless you want to stay on that bus all the way around the Happy Isles loop before it comes back to Curry and then on to Yosemite Village you have to get off the bus at stop 14, cross the road and catch the westbound one at stop 19 to go to Yosemite Village. It looks according to the schedule that to take the bus to Yosemite Village from Yosemite Lodge will take approx. 1 hr. 20 minutes.... See page one of the attached Yosemite Guide for the new map. And it looks like they took out the Sentinel Bridge stop and the Rafting/bicycle stops in Camp Curry. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/yg22-04.pdf

Perhaps related to this: Valley Traffic Changes? Specifically, maybe Northside Drive between the Lodge and the Village is going to be one-way heading west, so the buses have to go all the way around to return to Curry or the Village?

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/roadpilot.htm

"Converting Northside Drive to one-way westbound from the Yosemite Village parking area to Yosemite Valley Lodge, so that both travel lanes may be used to exit Yosemite Valley."

So there's no way to drive from Yosemite Lodge to Yosemite Village without going to the El Capitan crossover.

Note also that if you drive into the valley and want to park at Yosemite Village, you can't turn right off Sentinel Drive to get there - you need to go past Sentinel Bridge to the Curry intersection and then back to the Yosemite Village parking lot. Hopefully this helps, getting out of Curry Village parking anytime after about 3pm is difficult.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2022 02:39PM by rahill.

Yes, t looks like you are correct. This is from the daily report. Also note the last sentence that states that some stops are no longer in service.

"Yosemite Valley Shuttle System Changes
Two new shuttle routes are effect as of May 17.

Valleywide shuttle: This route serves all stops in Yosemite Valley, including lodges, food service, campgrounds, and trailheads. Buses arrive every 12 to 22 minutes from 7 am to 10 pm.

East Valley shuttle: This route is limited to Yosemite Village, Curry Village, Pines campgrounds, and trailheads in eastern Yosemite Valley (including Happy Isles). Buses arrive every 8 to 12 minutes from 7 am to 10 pm. (

A map is available at https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/images/valleyshuttle.png. Please note that some stops are no longer in service. (J. Trust)"


This is due to the new traffic pattern changes. I suggest that everyone writes to the Superintendent about the traffic pattern change because now it is not only affecting driving in the valley but also using the shuttle. The first time we went after the traffic pattern change last year it was at night and by mistake we turned left on Sentinel bridge and to go to Curry, we had to go all the way back to El Cap crossover. Thorough out our visits last year when that traffic pattern was in effect it was a nightmare to get around the valley. The shuttles were not running and I am partially handicapped and can't walk very far so it was a challenge to get from one point to another. It actually caused more traffic issues because people had to drive more if they want to go to different parts of the valley.

With the shuttles running this year, less people will be driving around from place to place but it still doesn't address the issue of being to access all parts of the valley easily. In addition, with that traffic pattern you now drive through Curry Village which is dangerous because of the amount of people in that area and many people are crossing the roads in places that they should not be crossing. At night it is really hard to see people and several times we almost hit someone that was trying to cross the road in the wrong place. Add in all of the construction this summer and some of the parking areas will be closed, it is not going to be a nice experience visiting the valley this summer. Instead of the new traffic pattern, in my mind, having rangers control the busy intersections would help with the flow of traffic while still allowing people to easily move around the valley. It is starting to feel like this is another way to control the amount of people that visit in the busy season without have to do a Carrying Capacity which is wildly unpopular. Make visiting as difficult as possible so people will either not come or not stay as long. As one concessionaire worker that last year we asked what they thought about the pilot traffic plan said, " Welcome to Yosemite and don't let the door hit you on the way out."

EDIT: I was just talking to my husband and I misquoted the concessionaire worker They actually said, "Welcome to Yosemite, now leave". This is how they felt the traffic plan and the message it sends to visitors.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2022 02:28PM by parklover.

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parklover
Valleywide shuttle: This route serves all stops in Yosemite Valley, including lodges, food service, campgrounds, and trailheads. Buses arrive every 12 to 22 minutes from 7 am to 10 pm.

Twice in late May, and again twice last week, I tried to catch the shuttle at the Four Mile Trailhead, always around 1 or 1:30 PM. Two of those times the bus was so late (30 or 40 minutes) that I gave up and walked to the Lodge. The other two times I did actually get to ride it, but it was miserably crowded -- even more than it used to be in summer in the pre-pandemic years. The drivers were opening only the rear door for passengers, probably because if anyone were to come in the front door they'd have no place to go and they'd end up blocking the driver's view.

You'd think that if the buses started around the loop every 12 to 22 minutes then, even if there were so many riders that it took them a lot of extra time at each stop, the next bus would be delayed at the same rate so it would stay the same 12 to 22 minutes behind the previous bus. My guess is that Aramark is short of buses and/or drivers, so they occasionally skip a run without mentioning it.

I will be catching shuttle at 4 mile this weekend. Maybe I'll just hitchhike from that point instead!!

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gophersnake

Quote
parklover
Valleywide shuttle: This route serves all stops in Yosemite Valley, including lodges, food service, campgrounds, and trailheads. Buses arrive every 12 to 22 minutes from 7 am to 10 pm.

Twice in late May, and again twice last week, I tried to catch the shuttle at the Four Mile Trailhead, always around 1 or 1:30 PM. Two of those times the bus was so late (30 or 40 minutes) that I gave up and walked to the Lodge. The other two times I did actually get to ride it, but it was miserably crowded -- even more than it used to be in summer in the pre-pandemic years. The drivers were opening only the rear door for passengers, probably because if anyone were to come in the front door they'd have no place to go and they'd end up blocking the driver's view.

You'd think that if the buses started around the loop every 12 to 22 minutes then, even if there were so many riders that it took them a lot of extra time at each stop, the next bus would be delayed at the same rate so it would stay the same 12 to 22 minutes behind the previous bus. My guess is that Aramark is short of buses and/or drivers, so they occasionally skip a run without mentioning it.

When we were there the last part of May, we could see people that had been waiting for a long time. Some were still waiting at the Four Mile Trailhead after the designated stop times which could be attributed to the fact that the shuttle had not shown up before the stop time and they were hoping it would come. Saw a lot of full shuttles in Curry that were not able to pick up more people. We saw many families with small children or elderly people waiting for shuttles who looked like they were at the end of their rope. Not a fun way to experience Yosemite. I feel bad for people who are staying at the Yosemite Lodge or using that day use parking lot with them not having a more direct way to get from there to the eastern part of the valley. It is ridicules to spend over an hour on a shuttle if you just want to go from the lodge to Curry. There are some people that are handicapped, elderly and/or have young children that are not able to walk everywhere, and they depend on the shuttles to get around. They might spend more time in a shuttle than they do actually enjoying the park. With Covid, the park is short staffed, so it is not surprising that shuttles are not running well. Add in the fact that the drivers do need breaks, that will also affect the timing of shuttles. In the past, we have had to wait on a shuttle because the driver for the shuttle in front of us took a break and our shuttle was not allowed to go around the other shuttle.

It looks like they are still not addressing the cause of the afternoon backups from the Lower Falls/Yosemite Lodge crosswalk back to Stoneman Bridge. It is due to no pedestrian control at the crosswalk. Only a couple of cars can get through at a time due to the constant flow of pedestrians stepping out and stopping cars. There needs to be 24hr. crosswalk control there, either a pedestrian light or a pedestrian tunnel. All these other measures are worthless if there isn't some way of having breaks in the pedestrians crossing so more cars can pass by before the pedestrians stop the flow of traffic. That has been the main traffic problem for decades. I've occasionally seen traffic control people at that crossing but its not consistent.

The pedestrian traffic at Yosemite Falls is a big part of the problem. This past weekend they had that fairly well managed with pedestrian control (including fencing) at two locations (one before, one after the bridge). Short of digging a tunnel or building a bridge, that's about the best that can be hoped for.

I will have to look it up but the last plan was supposed to address that intersection and I can't remember what they decided to do but for some reason, I think there was mention of a tunnel. It could take many years before anything is done other than pedestrian and traffic control.