The Grand Canyon is in crisis. It has become the second most visited national park in the system. More than 5 million people visit each year, stressing a system built to accomodate less than 500,000. Most of the overcrowding happens at the South Rim in the Grand Canyon Village area. On some summer days, more than 6,000 people arrive. Some of the major overlooks can seem more like Times Square on New Years Eve than a place to commune with nature.

To reduce congestion, the park's administration has selected a transportation system using a combination of light rail and alternative fuel buses. All day-use visitors to the South Rim will park their cars in the gateway community of Tusayan and board a light rail car for the six-mile ride to the Mather Point Transit Center. From Mather Point, light rail will provide transit service to Maswik Transportation Center and back to Tusayan. Light rail trains will serve this route year-round, with a train scheduled to depart about every five minutes during the peak season. The Park Services says that the Mather Point facility will be able to accomodate more than 4,000 people per hour. If you don't mind waiting for a 75K file to load, you can snatch a peak at what they're proposing.

A fleet of alternative fuel buses will work with the light rail system to transport visitors in those areas of the Grand Canyon Village that are not served by the light rail system, including West Rim areas, Yavapai Observation Station, Yaki Point and the South Kaibab trail head. The buses, which will probably be powered by electricity or natural gas, will offer a clean and quiet alternative to conventional fueled buses. Buses will also run year-round at regular intervals, in most cases every 20 minutes or less, depending on the season.

For those of us who would rather walk or bicycle, a Greenway System will follow the rim east and west from Mather Point. This promises to be a real treat. The trail will range from 14' wide and paved to 6' and unpaved. The eventual plan calls for 100 miles of trails along both the South and North Rims, connecting most of the major rim attractions to the Arizona Trail.

Tour-bus parking at Mather Point will be eliminated. Tour bus passengers will also change over to the light rail system in Tusayan in order to visit Mather Point and all points to the west. Buses will use the Maswik Transportation Center for pick-up and drop-off.

Visitors with overnight lodging, camping, or recreational vehicle reservations will drive to a designated parking area. Once they've parked, they will use the park's transit system for all other trips within the park.

The transit system will be implemented in phases. Expansion of the existing shuttle bus system is underway and will continue through the next several years. Completion of the Mather Point Transit Center, the cornerstone of the Park's General Management Plan (GMP), and the transportation hub, is expected to be completed by Fall of 2000. The transit system will be in place shortly thereafter.

The National Park Service plans on using a variety of funding sources to carry out the transportation plan, including: the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program funds; the Grand Canyon Association; concessions contract(s); the Federal Lands Highway Program; and philanthropic donations to the Grand Canyon Fund.

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