South San Francisco to expand shuttle program

Community outreach indicated South San Francisco residents wanted more from its free shuttle service and officials answered by expanding routes, travel times and increasing service frequency for the 77,000 annual passengers it serves.

The shuttle service, which serves a mix of seniors, students, commuters and transit dependent residents, has had positive community feedback. Now, the city will expand its service with an additional route and minor changes to an existing route to better suit residents’ needs. At its Feb. 8 meeting, the City Council unanimously authorized an application to a county agency requesting funding for 75% of the cost, while the city is committing to the remaining 25%.

Vice Mayor Mark Nagales said the city’s shuttle service is one of the more popular services in the county and there are talks about cutting funding to other services around the county because ridership is down.

“But, that is not the case here, our ridership has increased over time and there has been a huge demand in Westborough,” Nagales said.

Councilmember James Coleman added there isn’t a safe crosswalk to go from the Westborough neighborhood to the rest of the city because Interstate 280 and Junipero Serra Boulevard cut the city in half.

“I see people walking up Westborough Boulevard where there is no pedestrian crossing but they are walking with groceries or pushing a shopping cart, right, so that means they have to do it,” Coleman said.

This is a service the city could provide to help residents get to where they need to go safely, he added.

The city already has two shuttles running in opposite directions. One clockwise, the other counterclockwise, the first of which runs from 7:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. averaging 15 trips per day. The latter runs counterclockwise from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., averaging 12 trips per day. Combined the shuttles average around 350 passengers per day and after community outreach the demand for more service became apparent.

The changes to the existing route, which makes a loop beginning and ending at the BART station, will continue to include stops on the eastern side of El Camino Real including: the Sunshine Gardens, Hillside Boulevard, Downtown and add a new stop near the BART station. Additional stops at the Roberta Cerri Teglia Senior Center, Terrabay Recreation Center, both libraries, Orange Memorial Park and Pool, Rotary Plaza, Kaiser Hospital and connecting to the newly proposed western route. The minor changes to the shuttle’s routes are due to community outreach efforts, which also indicated the elimination of the West Orange Avenue stops in both directions, according to the staff report.

The western route will serve west of El Camino Real. It would serve the Treasure Island RV Park near Hickey Boulevard. From there, it would travel to the lower Winston Manor neighborhoods, Serra highlands, Buri Buri, Avalon and then segments of the northern and southern side of the Westborough neighborhood. The new route includes connections to SamTrans, BART, the new Civic Campus, more South San Francisco Schools and parks, according to the report.

The shuttle loop will take approximately an hour and the city plans on timing the schedule to align with the surrounding school schedules.

Mayor Flor Nicolas said the Serra Highlands and Winston Manor will also greatly benefit from the new routes.

“Because they don’t have grocery stores [in those areas] so it’s really a hardship for them,” Nicolas said.

The existing route costs $1.4 million. The Transportation Authority City County Association of Governments of San Mateo County, which is an organization that allocates a half-cent sales tax dedicated to transportation needs, funds $1,064,400 of the expenses, or 75% of the total. While the city contributes $354,800, or 25% of the total cost. The western route is projected to cost $796,635. The Transportation Authority would pick up $597,476.25 of the cost, or 75% and the city would contribute $199,158.75, or 25%. The total project is approximately $2.2 million, according to the report.

The city submitted two applications requesting $1.6 million to fund both routes to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. The money will be used for operations cost with Parking Company of America, the shuttle operations provider, and its 3% annual increase. It will also fund updates and new sign installations, curb painting, update to the shuttle timetable and route maps, shuttle wrapping and staff time. The 25% city contribution will total $553,958.75 for both routes, according to the report.

The city’s goal is to serve 10 passengers per service hour at an average rate of $11 per passenger. However, the shuttle is outperforming those numbers by averaging 16.7 passengers per service hour, costing the city $7.16 per passenger, according to the report.

The South City Shuttle has been in operation since November 2014 and has been funded by four rounds of San Mateo County Transportation Authority Shuttle Program funds. The funding lasts for two years and reapproved in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020, according to the report.

Councilmember Mark Addiego said he is excited to see the program expand and give the residents alternative travel options.