Schedule alignment accelerates Bay Area transit transformation

Bay Area transit’s ongoing transformation into a more connected, more efficient and more customer-focused mobility network this week took another step forward as major transit agencies synchronized their schedules to improve transfers between systems and agreed to coordinate future schedule changes twice a year: in mid-January and in mid-August. 

Thanks to what BART calls the Big Sync, riders who use more than one system will save up to 16 minutes on their trips. Other customer-focused improvements led by MTC and Bay Area transit agencies include the testing and expansion of a unified design for transit maps and wayfinding signs, continued expansion of the Clipper BayPass program to allow more employers to offer workers an all-you-can-ride transit pass, and the transition later this year to the Next Generation of Clipper, which will give transit riders free or discounted transfers between systems. 

Advancing schedule change alignment is a key priority for Bay Area transit general managers, who meet on a weekly basis to make transit more rider-focused and efficient.  

Specific service coordination efforts for January include:  

• BART is timing its late evening Millbrae service that runs every 15 minutes to line up with Caltrain’s service every 30 minutes. In September 2024, Caltrain’s new electric service schedule significantly improved transfer times. Both agencies have coordinated on a helpful transfer timetable to show which trains connect and their transfer wait times.   
• VTA is making changes to match both BART’s and Caltrain’s schedule changes to ensure timed transfers are maintained at various locations across the South Bay and Peninsula. 
• In San Francisco, Muni is restoring the 30X Marina Express bus for two morning trips at 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m., beginning in February. Morning commuters will be able to enjoy a fast, direct connection from the Marina to BART and the Transbay Center connecting to various bus lines. 
• For transit riders traveling during the morning commute from Napa County’s Redwood Park n Ride on the Napa Valley Transportation Authority’s bus 29 to El Cerrito del Norte Station to catch the Red Line into San Francisco between 5:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., their trips will be six minutes faster on average and up to 16 minutes faster. 
• For transit riders returning home on their evening commute from the San Rafael Transit Center in Marin County to the Richmond Parkway Transit Center in Contra Costa County between 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the Golden Gate Transit #580 or #580X and the AC Transit #76 (transferring at Cutting Blvd and Harbour), their trips will be 5 minutes and 40 seconds faster on average and up to 16 minutes faster. 
• Transit riders departing the Salesforce Transit Center between 9 p.m. and midnight on the Golden Gate Transit bus 130 and the Marin Transit bus 35 (transferring at the San Rafael Transit Center), will arrive at the Canal Area of San Rafael (Kerner and Larkspur) 15 minutes faster. 

“These are examples of how Bay Area transit agencies are acting as one network to better serve the Bay Area to help reduce traffic and improve the quality of service,” said Alicia Trost, Chief Communications Officer at BART. “Making transit faster than driving a car and easier to navigate is possible when the Bay Area invests in transit and we all work together.”