On July 15, 2025, local agencies launched a pilot program at Emerald Bay to find a solution to haphazard and unsafe parking on SR89 at the popular destination.
With an increase in “no parking” areas, the local agencies that came together to plan the pilot, developed the Emerald Bay Shuttle program, as well as an increase in enforcement by a dedicated officer from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) on weekends.
There are new signs and barriers up in the area to keep drivers from parking on sensitive land and in an unsafe manner. On a drive through Emerald Bay on SR89 on Tuesday, August 5, there were numerous cars parking in “no parking” areas or parts of their cars were over the white “fog line,” which is illegal.
Dedicated CHP enforcement is conducted Friday-Sunday, and then they enforce when driving through.
Over the first three weekends of the pilot:
July 18 – July 20: 35 parking citations, 3 tickets, 3 stored vehicles
July 25 – July 27: 32 parking citations and 4 stored vehicles
August 1 – August 3: 87 parking citations, 2 moving violations, and 3 stored vehicles.
The Emerald Bay Shuttle is available for the public to use, and it’s slowly catching on. The cost is $10 for adults round trip, and allows people to get on and off, and not stress about parking while enjoying the view, while someone else does the driving.
Shuttle rides
July 18 – 20 (approx. 20% capacity)
Bookings: 138
Participants: 456
July 25 – 27 (approx. 25% capacity)
Bookings: 117
Participants: 387
Aug 1 – 3 (approx. 30% capacity)
Bookings: 145
Participants: 448
In comparison to ridership after other launches, the Downtower (the service operator) told Keep Tahoe Blue that this is a stronger-than-average start for brand-new service and/or routes. Keep Tahoe Blue said the upward trend in ridership is encouraging. To reserve a seat, visit HERE.
