SamTrans riders will ride free on Monday, Sept. 16, as part of an effort to boost ridership and bring awareness to the agency’s new routes and expanded service.
All SamTrans rides, including paratransit routes, will be free of charge, a move meant to highlight new services, such as the EPX route added earlier this year. The express route uses Highway 101 express lanes to shuttle passengers from East Palo Alto to downtown San Francisco, while making stops along the Peninsula, including Menlo Park, Redwood City Caltrain and the San Bruno BART station.
The new route is also part of a larger initiative to update several SamTrans bus routes, including the removal of Route 398 and increasing frequency for some lines, such as Route 110. The bus service now has more frequent weekend and weekday service on six routes while consolidating others, according to the site.
“The Reimagine SamTrans campaign created new bus routes, faster service to key destinations, more frequent service every 15 minutes, expanded weekend and evening service, and Ride-Plus on-demand microtransit service in two areas of the county,” a recent SamTrans press release said.
SamTrans has fared relatively well post-pandemic compared to other major transit agencies in the county, such as Caltrain. It saw a projected $29 million surplus earlier this year, and performance data confirms that San Mateo County residents are opting to ride SamTrans buses at similar levels prior to 2020, and it’s mostly the city-to-Peninsula commutes — or vice versa — that have been hit hardest, largely a result of the pandemic-induced spike in remote work. According to a staff report, fixed-route bus service ridership is currently at 99% of pre-pandemic ridership as of April, and overall ridership has been steadily increasing by about 22% year over year.
(3) comments
Now are we assuming SamTrans won’t have another sickout on Monday? If SamTrans has a projected $29 million surplus with service at such low levels (remember SamTrans ridership decreased considerably from 2015 – 2019, before COVID) doesn’t it mean that bus fares are much higher than they should be? We see unions trying to get their hands on part of the surplus but why not lower fares for the folks who paid them? Perhaps that would bring more riders on a regular basis than giving one free day. BTW, how much does it cost to ride SamTrans? I know a lot of folks ride for free but the cost for the average, discriminated-against adult?
Hi Terence -- the unions usually plan these actions ahead of time, and AFAIK, nothing's been called for Monday. Fingers crossed. Also, SamTrans basic adult fares are $2.25 cash or $2.05 if paid with a Clipper Card (which one can download onto their smartphone for free).
Mr. Baker - many thanks for the additional information. Are you implying sickouts are planned ahead of time? So unions know who will be sick (in reality, not as a ploy) in the near or far future? If that’s the case, these union folks can easily parlay their insight into selecting future winning lottery numbers. As for fare prices, they seem steep enough that finding a more reliable alternative is preferable than putting up with SamTrans inconveniencing riders - a round trip costs almost as much as a gallon of gas. If SamTrans has a $29 million surplus, lower the fares.
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