More Trains For North Bay As US-101 Commute Gets 'Smarter'

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Transit riders along U.S. Highway 101 in Marin and Sonoma counties will soon see improvements along the corridor as part of new service changes called the Marin-Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service Plan, or MASCOTS.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit agency on Thursday announced the coordinated service changes that will take effect on April 12 and are aimed at growing ridership, increasing the frequency of service, and expanding transit options.

The plan is to make it easier for riders to travel across Marin and Sonoma counties and into San Francisco "with better timed connections and more options throughout the day," SMART said in a press release.

Overall, SMART train service will increase by 19%, with more frequency in mornings and evenings. Weekend frequency will also increase. Golden Gate Transit buses will roughly double their service between San Rafael and San Francisco.

This will come at a cost of discontinuing runs from Novato to Santa Rosa, however. But an increase in SMART train service will fill in the gaps, SMART officials said. Several agencies are involved and will coordinate with one another: the Transportation Authority of Marin; the Sonoma County Transportation and Climate Authorities; the SMART District; the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District; Marin Transit; Sonoma County Transit; Santa Rosa CityBus and Petaluma Transit.

The SMART changes include: -Early morning commuters in the northbound direction can make earlier shifts -More midday service "so people can make doctor's appointments, lunch dates and meetings" -Additional evening service and later service "so people can go out to dinner and stay out later"

For a broader overview of all the changes and specific routes, go to mascotsplan.org.

By Bay City News
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