SMART preps for hiring spree, more trains

SMART is preparing for a proposed overhaul of bus and train service in the North Bay.

The thrust of the plan, brought by a North Bay transportation committee, is to end Golden Gate Transit regional bus service between Sonoma and Marin and increase SMART train hours and capacity between the counties.

The move requires Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit to hire 13 new employees and increase service 19% at an estimated cost of $2.5 million. The plan also would require another two hires in the fiscal year ending in 2027.

On Wednesday, the SMART board approved a budget adjustment to enable staff to recruit new hires in order to be ready for the change. Agencies are holding public hearings over the coming months to consider the suite of service updates that are proposed as a three-year pilot project starting in the spring.

“We’re just at that point that if we add service, we need to add staffing,” General Manager Eddy Cumins told the board. “If we pull the trigger and are ready to move forward in April of 26, we need to have those people ready to go on day 1.”

The committee representing six transit operators and three funding agencies wants to eliminate redundancies while improving and increasing services where rider demand is highest.

Planners said the expansion of the SMART rail line to Larkspur in 2019 highlighted the need for operators in the two counties to come together and plan. The group, called the Marin Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service, formed last year with the goal of restructuring transit as if it was operated by a single provider.

A study found that Golden Gate Transit bus and the SMART train are duplicating services, and the train has become the more popular choice of travel between Sonoma and Marin. The Highway 101 corridor is also overserved, with too many bus routes carrying too few riders. Local bus routes also need to have better connections to the SMART rail, the study said.

The report recommends discontinuing the Golden Gate Transit Route 101 bus north of Novato and increasing train frequency.

For weekday train service, the recommendation is to increase the train from 42 trips to 48 trips and expand the service window from 4 a.m. to 11:15 p.m. with more frequent trains. The train currently runs from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

To accommodate the change, SMART would need to stop its midday maintenance routine.

Weekend service would increase trips from 16 to 24. Service would still begin at 7 a.m., but it would be lengthened two hours in the evening to 11 p.m.

Resources saved from discontinuing Golden Gate Transit Route 101 in Sonoma County would be reinvested in the agency’s service between Marin and San Francisco, where the greatest demand exists. This would also increase bus frequency in San Rafael and points south, enabling easier transfers from the SMART train.

Golden Gate Route 101 would continue to offer express service between Novato and San Francisco. Route 130 would be increased with greater frequency between Marin City and San Francisco. Route 150 would be suspended due to low ridership.

In Sonoma County, Golden Gate Transit service would continue, but it would be consolidated into a single line. Routes 164 and 172x would be eliminated. Route 172 would still be offered with greater frequency.

For Marin Transit, the committee recommends consolidating its routes on Highway 101 to simplify the network for riders. That involves combining resources of Route 71 and 36 to provide 15-minute service between the San Rafael Transit Center and Marin City.

The recommendation includes offering comparable bus service between the Canal neighborhood in San Rafael, Strawberry, Marin City and Sausalito.

Also recommended is that Marin Transit and Sonoma County bus services improve their connections to SMART stops.

“It’s great that SMART actually needs to provide that extra service because it means new revenues will come to pay for that,” said Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt, a SMART board member. “I think this is a great step in the right direction, one that should be replicated throughout the Bay Area and beyond to really make sure that the dollars that we’re spending … are really going towards moving people where they need to be.”

Heather McKillop, SMART’s chief financial officer, said the project requires a $1.12 million total investment this fiscal year.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has committed $600,000 to support SMART in its transition, McKillop said.

The board approved these and other budget adjustments Wednesday.

MTC also notified SMART that another $200,000 is expected to be made available. That budget amendment would be brought to the board next month, McKillop said.

With the MTC funding, the expected shortfall for the pilot is equal to about $322,349. SMART is seeking funding to fill the gap.

Marin County also is expected to contribute about $1.383 million to support the bus service changes.

On Monday, a committee of the Transportation Authority of Marin approved contributing $1.03 million of Measure AA sales tax dollars to Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit. That proposal is being recommended to the agency’s board later this month for final approval.

Workshops to learn more about the plan are set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Marin City Library at 164 Donahue St. in Marin City and 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Al Boro Community Center at 50 Canal St. in San Rafael.

More information is at mascotsplan.org.