SamTrans
Encyclopedia
SamTrans is a public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

 agency in and around San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...

, in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...

 and into portions of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 and Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

. Service is largely concentrated on the Bay side of the San Bruno Mountains, leaving coast-side service south of Pacifica
Pacifica, California
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...

 spotty and intermittent.

SamTrans is constituted as a special district
Special-purpose district
Special-purpose districts or special district governments in the United States are independent governmental units that exist separately from, and with substantial administrative and fiscal independence from, general purpose local governments such as county, municipal, and township governments. As...

 under California state law. It is governed by a board of nine appointed members; two county Supervisors, one “transportation expert” appointed by the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 Board of Supervisors, three city councilpersons
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 appointed by the cities in the county to represent the county's judicial districts, and three citizens appointed by the other six board members (including one from the coastside).

The district was established in 1976 by Pittsburgh resident John Mauro and consolidated eleven different municipal bus systems serving the county. One year later, SamTrans began operation of mainline bus service to San Francisco.

In addition to fixed route
Route
Route may refer to:* Route or thoroughfare for transportation* Route number or road number*Trade route, a commonly used path for the passage of goods*Scenic route, a thoroughfare designated as scenic based on the scenery through which it passes...

 bus and paratransit
Paratransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....

 operations, the district participates in the administration of the San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

-San Francisco commuter rail line Caltrain
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...

 and provides funding for the San Mateo County portion of BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...

 system south of Daly City Station. SamTrans also once possessed the authority to alter service levels on this segment of BART which services the San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...

 (SFO), and has done so on several occasions. However, in the face of increasing financial disputes, SamTrans and BART decided to end their partnership, giving BART full control over the extension, in early 2007. SamTrans also provides administrative support for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, a separate board charged with administering the half cent (US$0.005) sales tax levy funding various highway and transit improvement projects.

Bus service

Currently, SamTrans serves the cities of Atherton
Atherton, California
Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 6,914 at the 2010 census. In September 2010, Forbes magazine placed Atherton's zip code of 94027 at #2 on its annual list of America's most expensive zip codes, with a median home price of $4,010,200...

, Belmont
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...

, Burlingame
Burlingame, California
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...

, Colma
Colma, California
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....

, Daly City
Daly City, California
Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...

, East Palo Alto
East Palo Alto, California
East Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States.-Overview:As of the 2010 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 28,155. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose...

, Foster City
Foster City, California
Foster City is an affluent planned city located in San Mateo County, California, 94404. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 30,567. Forbes ranked Foster City #10 on their 2009 list of America's Top 25 Towns to Live Well. Money has also recognized Foster City multiple times as...

, Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, USA. Its population was 11,324 as of the 2010 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is the Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea....

, Hillsborough
Hillsborough, California
Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000...

, Menlo Park
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...

, Millbrae
Millbrae, California
Millbrae is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, just west of San Francisco Bay, with San Bruno on the north and Burlingame on the south. The population was 21,532 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, Pacifica
Pacifica, California
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...

, Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

, Redwood City
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...

, San Bruno
San Bruno, California
San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 41,114 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport and Golden Gate National Cemetery.-Geography:San Bruno is located at...

, San Carlos
San Carlos, California
San Carlos is a city in San Mateo County, California, USA on the San Francisco Peninsula, about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. It is an affluent small residential suburb located between Belmont to the north and Redwood City to the south. San Carlos' ZIP code is 94070, and it is within...

, San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...

, and South San Francisco
South San Francisco, California
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area...

. Most routes provide connecting service to BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...

, Caltrain
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...

, or both. There is also regular scheduled service to San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...

 (SFO) and Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Transit Terminal, or simply Transbay Terminal, was a transportation complex in San Francisco, California, USA, located roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north–south by Mission Street and Howard Street, and east–west by Beale Street and 2nd Street...

 in downtown San Francisco.

Unlike most large transit operators in the Bay Area, SamTrans outsources
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...

 to private contractors the operation of a number of its routes. The current contract operator for Peninsula mainline, Coastside and paratransit services is MV Transportation
MV Transportation
MV Transportation, Inc., based in Fairfield, California., is the largest private provider of paratrasit services and the largest privately-owned transportation contracting firm in the United States...

.

SamTrans previously operated special service for a couple of Bay Area events such as San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 home football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 games and the quirky Bay To Breakers
Bay to Breakers
The Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace which takes place in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May. The name reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarcadero and runs west through the city to finish at the Great...

 footrace in San Francisco.

Route designations

Since SamTrans reorganized its bus routes in August 1999, SamTrans adopted a new route designation system to identify service types, geographical coverage, and connections to rail services
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

.

Express bus
Express bus
An express bus service is a bus service that is intended to run faster than normal bus services between the same two commuter points....

 routes designated by a letter and X. In December 2009, seven express routes were eliminated due to budget constraints; route KX is the only express route still operating.

All local routes have either two or three digits. For three digit routes, the first digit identifies a rail connection:
  • 1 – Connection to BART stations only (Primarily routes in Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco and San Bruno)
  • 2 – Connection to Caltrain stations only (Primarily routes south of Millbrae)
  • 3 – Connection to both BART and Caltrain stations (Only four routes have this designation: Two of them operate along El Camino between Daly City/San Francisco and Palo Alto/Redwood City, one serves within Foster City and connects to the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station via U.S. Route 101
    U.S. Route 101
    U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101, is an important north–south U.S. highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States...

    , and another route provides overnight service between Palo Alto and San Francisco as a part of the All Nighter
    All Nighter
    The All Nighter is a night bus service network in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Portions of the service shadow the rapid transit and commuter rail services of BART and Caltrain, which are the major rail services between San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and San Jose...

     network.)


All two digit routes are identified as community service routes. Most of these routes do not connect with rail and operate only on school days.

The second digit of the three digit routes, as well as the first digit of the two digit routes, identifies the geographical coverage of the route:
  • 1 – Coastside (Pacifica and Half Moon Bay)
  • 2 – Daly City and Colma
  • 3 – Brisbane and South San Francisco
  • 4 – San Bruno, Millbrae and Burlingame
  • 5 – San Mateo and Foster City
  • 6 – Belmont and San Carlos
  • 7 – Redwood City
  • 8 – Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto
  • 9 – Multi-City service

Fares

Note: fares below are in effect February 1st, 2010
Fare category Single ride Monthly Pass
Adult local US$2.00 US$64
Adult local (boarding from San Francisco on routes 391, 292 and 397) US$4.00 US$96
Adult express US$5.00 US$165
Youth (17 years and under) US$1.25 US$36
Youth (boarding from San Francisco on routes 391, 292 and 397) US$2.50
Youth express US$2.50
Senior and Disabled US$1.00 US$25
Senior and Disabled (boarding from San Francisco on routes 391, 292 and 397) US$2.00
Senior and Disabled express US$2.50

  • † Local fare applies on Route KX (for passengers traveling between San Francisco International Airport, and the rest of the San Mateo County).


SamTrans offers bus tokens
Exonumia
Exonumia are numismatic items other than coins and paper money. This includes "Good For" tokens, badges, counterstamped coins, elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, wooden nickels and other similar items...

 for adult and youth local fares, US$12.50 and US$8.00 respectively, in packages of ten. Multiple tokens or combinations of tokens and cash are accepted for journeys requiring higher fares. Tokens are promoted as being easier to handle than cash, and also include discounts. For example, a package of youth tokens includes 2 free rides assuming the others are worth $1 each.

In addition, SamTrans typically offers a discount summer pass for youth which is treated like a monthly pass, but good for the entire summer. They typically cost a few dollars more than a normal youth monthly pass. These passes usually do not go on sale until mid-May.

SamTrans does not provide transfers nor day passes. The Federal Transit Administration
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...

 has recommended SamTrans introduce transfers and/or day passes to increase bus ridership. SamTrans is in the process of purchasing new fareboxes that have the ability to issue transfers. The purchases and installation is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

BART Plus tickets and Caltrain monthly passes (with two or more zones) are honoured on SamTrans as local fare payment.

As of December 22, 2010, Clipper card fare machines became fully operational throughout the system, allowing riders to pay fares using a transit smart card that is also accepted by most other Bay Area transit agencies.

SamTrans is in the midst of testing a new, state-of-the-art farebox that will have the ability to accept (in addition to cash) paper and magnetic-stripe tickets as well as the ability to issue change cards in the event that the rider overpays due to lack of exact change. SamTran's 2011 Summer Youth Pass will be among the first types of magnetic tickets available. There is also speculation that this new fareboxes will be able to issue day passes. All buses are expected to be equipped with the new fareboxes by 1 June 2011.

Fleet

SamTrans currently has a fleet of 339 buses of various sizes for its fixed route service. Fifty-five are articulated bus
Articulated bus
An articulated bus is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usually a single-deck design, and comprises two rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint...

es made by North American Bus Industries
North American Bus Industries
North American Bus Industries, commonly known as NABI, is a major transit bus manufacturing company based in Anniston, Alabama. NABI was founded in 1992 when the Hungarian firm Ikarus Bus, a key bus supplier to Central, Eastern Europe, spun off a majority share of their American operations to...

 with the 10 m (35 ft) and 12 m (40 ft) buses, some with low flooring, are made by the Gillig Corporation
Gillig
Gillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...

. Each bus is equipped with GPS tracking
GPS tracking
A GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the Global Positioning System to determine the precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record the position of the asset at regular intervals...

 providing both visual and voice next-stop announcements, and are accessible to passengers in wheelchairs and limited mobility. In addition, most of the fleet has highback seats, with the notable exception of the Gillig low-floor buses. This enables greater fleet flexibility in terms of local and express routes.

In 2009, SamTrans added 135 custom made Gillig
Gillig
Gillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...

 low floor buses to their fleet, numbered 400-490,500-539 & 2900-2903, replacing 137 older Gillig Phantom buses in their fleet.

See also

  • AC Transit
    AC Transit
    AC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...

  • San Francisco Municipal Railway
    San Francisco Municipal Railway
    The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...

  • Caltrain
    Caltrain
    Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...

  • Bay Area Rapid Transit
    Bay Area Rapid Transit
    Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...

  • Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
    Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
    The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is a special-purpose district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California, United States...

  • Muni Metro
    Muni Metro
    Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway , a division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency...

  • List of SamTrans bus lines
  • Clipper card

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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