Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 12:44 p.m.
Representatives of 14 top software and system design firms met Wednesday with Dick Powers, director of the South Shore Transit Management Association, to discuss the $3.6 million project.
During a two-hour session, Powers fielded questions, noted the bid deadline and said a contractor would be picked in July by a panel that includes representatives of the city, Heavenly Ski Resort and hotel-casinos.
Powers said the committee is looking for a firm that has years of experience with complex software.
"It's important that the software strength is there," he said. "It's a key element in our evaluation. Without it, the rest goes up in smoke."
The plan calls for equipping buses with a transponder that will beam a signal to satellites. More than 45 buses and shuttles will run fixed and demand-response routes on Tahoe's south shore.
Passengers will be able to call for a bus or wait at designated kiosks. A signal will go to a dispatch center and an operator will select the nearest bus headed in the requested direction.
Most of the money for the project came from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Transit Administration. Locally, more than $1.1 million was contributed by private and public agencies.
Powers said he had hoped the system could be available to the public early next year, but the start-up date may be pushed back to August 1999.
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