Summer 2018 has brought multiple shakeups with Bay Area public transportation. Aside from the yearly fare hikes with Golden Gate, AC Transit also saw fare hikes from $2.25 to $2.35 for local rides for adults, and a price hike in adult monthly passes from $81 to $84.60; details here. Caltrain also hiked its fares for adult riders, with a base fare of $3.75 for one zone and an additional $2.25 for each additional zone traveled; see details here.
AC Transit
AC Transit transformed multiple loop lines operating around San Leandro, Castro Valley, Hayward, and Union City and became mostly straight lines. Among the lines that were changed include:
- Eliminating eight lines, Lines 22, 32, 37, 48, 75, 85, 89, and 386
- Creation of five new lines, including Lines 28, 34, 35, 41, and 56, with improved frequencies compared to the eliminated lines
- Modified service on Line 93 to become a direct line rather than a loop
- Service span and frequency increases on Lines 60, 83, and 86
- Service extension for Line 60 (some long-time riders call it the resumption of the old Line 92)
Line |
Direction |
Status |
22 |
Loop |
|
28 |
North-South |
|
32 |
Loop |
|
34 |
North-South |
|
35 |
North-South |
|
37 |
Loop |
|
41 |
North-South |
|
48 |
North-South |
|
56 |
North-South |
|
60 |
East-West |
|
75 |
Loop |
|
83 |
North-South |
|
85 |
North-South |
|
86 |
North-South |
|
89 |
Loop |
|
93 |
Loop |
|
386 |
East-West |
|
Marin TransitIn the North Bay, Marin Transit introduced a pilot service, Marin Transit Connect, that shuttles commuters within a defined service area in north San Rafael weekdays from 7am to 7pm. Operated by Whistlestop, Marin Transit Connect offers riders the flexibility of traveling between homes, businesses, county offices, and local attractions in Terra Linda, Marin Civic Center, Smith Ranch, and a small portion of Marinwood. Fares are as follows:
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In addition, Marin Transit adjusted its services, including trip eliminations on select lines (especially Route 29), and a handover of one route (Route 49) from MV Transportation to Marin Airporter. The handover of Route 49 to Marin Airporter also entails the handover of the five Gillig BRT Hybrid 40' buses (1505 to 1509) from MV Transportation, resulting in Marin Airporter managing all of the eleven Gillig BRT Hybrid buses.
SamTrans
In the Peninsula, SamTrans introduced two new routes:
ECR Rapid operates as a rapid version of Route ECR, in which it makes a total of 11 stops in 10 cities, saving commuters up to 40 minutes compared to the local version. However, riders boarding from or heading to Mission & Sickles (or Mission & Wellington) and points south of Redwood City Transit Center need to switch to the local ECR along the way. Service operates:
Route SFO, on the other hand, complements BART service between Millbrae Transit Center and SFO Airport, with an approximate travel time between 7 and 12 minutes between either end. Three of the new Gillig BRT 40' buses (601, 602, and 603) have dedicated "Caltrain SFO Connection" bus wraps and luggage racks on board to securely store luggage. This service is meant to be used when BART does not provide direct train service between Millbrae and SFO Airport stations; however, due to its competitive fare ($2.25 for Route SFO versus $4 for BART) and door-to-door opportunities, this service can get decent ridership. This route is timed to meet most trains serving Millbrae Caltrain; details below:
- ECR Rapid, operating daily between Daly City BART and Redwood City Transit Center (click here for more details)
- Route SFO, operating daily between Millbrae BART/Caltrain Station and SFO Airport
ECR Rapid operates as a rapid version of Route ECR, in which it makes a total of 11 stops in 10 cities, saving commuters up to 40 minutes compared to the local version. However, riders boarding from or heading to Mission & Sickles (or Mission & Wellington) and points south of Redwood City Transit Center need to switch to the local ECR along the way. Service operates:
- Weekdays: every 20 minutes from 6am to 11am, then from 3:30pm to 8pm
- Weekends and holidays: every 30 minutes from 10am to 8pm (first departure from Daly City is 11am)
Route SFO, on the other hand, complements BART service between Millbrae Transit Center and SFO Airport, with an approximate travel time between 7 and 12 minutes between either end. Three of the new Gillig BRT 40' buses (601, 602, and 603) have dedicated "Caltrain SFO Connection" bus wraps and luggage racks on board to securely store luggage. This service is meant to be used when BART does not provide direct train service between Millbrae and SFO Airport stations; however, due to its competitive fare ($2.25 for Route SFO versus $4 for BART) and door-to-door opportunities, this service can get decent ridership. This route is timed to meet most trains serving Millbrae Caltrain; details below:
Weekdays:
Direction |
First Arrival |
First Departure |
Last Arrival |
Last Departure |
To SFO Airport |
NB: 5:36am SB: 5:18am |
5:46am |
NB: 11:38pm SB: 11:06pm |
11:43pm |
To Caltrain |
6:04am |
NB: 6:11am SB: 6:22am |
12:01am |
SB: 12:29am |
Saturdays:
- For some trips that have tight connections between Caltrain and Route SFO, ask the operator or conductor to provide additional transfer time. Alternatively, call SamTrans and Caltrain Customer Service at 1-800-660-4287 for assistance.
Direction |
First Arrival |
First Departure |
Last Arrival |
Last Departure |
To SFO Airport |
NB: 8:09am SB: 8:34am |
8:18am 8:42am |
NB: 11:43pm SB: 11:18pm |
11:57pm |
To Caltrain |
8:36am |
NB: 10:09am SB: 8:34am, 10:04am |
12:15am |
SB: 12:29am |
Sundays and Holidays:
- For some trips that have tight connections between Caltrain and Route SFO, ask the operator or conductor to provide additional transfer time. Alternatively, call SamTrans and Caltrain Customer Service at 1-800-660-4287 for assistance.
- To meet the last SB Caltrain service leaving at 10:04pm, board Route SFO between 9:26pm (at Courtyard A) and 9:32pm (at Courtyard G).
- Last Route SFO bus leaving Millbrae BART/Caltrain at 11:33pm does not return to the train station upon arrival at SFO Airport; last stop is Courtyard G.
Direction |
First Arrival |
First Departure |
Last Arrival |
Last Departure |
To SFO Airport |
NB: 9:53am SB: 10:04am |
10:03am |
NB: 11:23pm |
11:33pm |
To Caltrain |
10:21am |
NB: 10:39am SB: 11:34am |
11:09pm* |
NB: 11:23pm |
Finally, as a result of canceling the pilot Route 399 due to low patronage, SamTrans opted to expand Route ECR's service span to operate 24/7, with round-the-clock service available between Mission & Wellington (connects with Muni's 14-Mission) and El Camino Real & San Bruno Avenue. Owl service on Route ECR will ultimately serve SFO Airport (connects with Route 397 to San Francisco and Palo Alto Transit Center) and will skip Daly City BART, Colma BART, and San Bruno BART stations (access to them is available through a short walk from El Camino Real and Mission Street, depending on the location). As a compromise to the elimination of Route 399, an additional trip on Route 120 leaving daily from Brunswick & Templeton at 4:06am will serve SFO Airport directly, with the last stop at Courtyard G.