In August, a new SamTrans express route connecting Foster City and San Francisco was launched attracting hundreds of new riders to the county’s bus system. A recent letter to the editor “Why the fanfare about the new Foster City express bus?” questioned the value of this service since Caltrain and BART already connect the county to San Francisco. The fact is, thanks to this express bus route, hundreds of commuters that used to drive alone are now using transit instead. To truly address traffic congestion, San Mateo County needs to move forward with a variety of transit solutions. That’s a huge reason why county voters approved Measure W last year.
It’s widely acknowledged that Caltrain service to San Francisco is already overcrowded, discouraging some commuters from using it. If a handful of Caltrain riders decide that express bus service is a better option for them, that’s a good thing. It frees up Caltrain capacity to be able to handle more riders that would otherwise choose to drive instead.
Worrying about one good transit service cannibalizing another is counterproductive. The goal is to get more people out of their cars and on to buses and trains. Accomplishing that goal means that we need to provide commuters with more transit alternatives. Foster City’s new express service does that and has already taken hundreds of cars off of Highway 101 as a result.
Seamus Murphy
San Carlos
The letter writer is the chief communications officer for SamTrans.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.