Yosemite's Shuttle Bus System Overwhelmed

Above, inside a Yosemite Valley shuttle bus. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The following is a good reason that I prefer to visit national parks during the off-season or before crowds start congregating (like early June or in September-October). 

The Yosemite National Park shuttle system works great during the non-peak times of the year. I used it three years ago when I stayed for several days at North Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley. The shuttle bus has a stop near the campground's entrance. For the most part, the buses weren't at all crowded, but there were some periods where they got very busy but still tolerable.

Above, a shuttle bus in Yosemite Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

However, now that the vacation season started on Memorial Day weekend, the shuttle system is already overtaxed.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

YOSEMITE VALLEY, Mariposa County — When Brenda and Carl Franklin wrapped up a leisurely round-trip hike to Mirror Lake on a recent afternoon in Yosemite National Park, they didn’t expect their mountain bliss to give way to a big-city headache. 

The Southern California couple found a long line of people waiting to catch the park bus to their cars, where the Franklins also needed to go. Then, they watched one bus after another drive past, each too full to pick them up. 

The pair shrugged off their frustration with the hour or so wait, but not everyone does. Over the past year, the overwhelmed shuttle system at Yosemite has caused shoving matches among vacationers clamoring for a ride and heated words between drivers and passengers. On one occasion, a handful of people were so fed up with buses whizzing by that they formed a human chain across the road to stop a coach. 

“I’ve told people don’t even bother with the shuttle,” said Carl Franklin, who has been visiting the park from Glendale (Los Angeles County) with his wife for nearly 40 years and hasn’t seen anything like this. “They’ve made a mess of it.” 

Yosemite’s shuttle system, which carries more than 3 million park visitors between such famous spots as Yosemite Falls, the Ahwahnee hotel and the Mist Trail each year, is at best an annoyance during the busy summer months. At worst, it’s a safety issue.

To read more, go here.