Marin Transit proposes major bus route changes

Aug 27, 2023

Marin Transit is proposing major changes to half of its local bus routes, including canceling or consolidating some routes, reducing trips, removing express routes and changing stop locations.

Robert Betts, the agency's operations director, said the proposed changes to routes 22, 23, 23X, 29, 35, 49, 71, 219, 251, 257, 645 and 651 are in response to an ongoing driver shortage, the return of regular traffic conditions and an effort to align with service changes by Golden Gate Transit and ferry service.

"We are continuing to face some challenges with the reliability of our service," Betts told the agency's board of directors on Monday. "And this is largely due to traffic conditions which have come back now to pre-COVID conditions and an onset of driver shortages that have plagued us throughout the pandemic, but really seem to be hurting us in the last six to eight months."

The agency has scheduled a 10 a.m. March 6 public hearing to hear feedback from riders and local residents on the proposed adjustments. If adopted, the changes would take effect on June 11.

The proposal would affect 12 of the 24 local bus routes provided by Marin Transit. Overall, Betts said the changes would decrease fixed route service hours by about 3%.

"So it's not a big service cut, but in order to achieve some of the efficiencies it's a lot of rearranging of the pieces throughout the fixed-route network," Betts told the board.

The proposal would also decrease the number of buses used by about 7.5%, which Betts said would reduce the number of drivers needed.

Unlike other transit agencies that are still struggling to recover ridership lost during the pandemic and its aftermath, Marin Transit has recovered about 90% of its ridership. Betts said financial issues are not driving the route changes.

Novato would experience the largest changes to its bus service. Route 251, which serves several Novato neighborhoods, would be discontinued. These neighborhoods would still be served by service changes made to Route 49 and the addition of a new route, Route 257.

"My read of what you’re proposing is that potentially people will be getting on a bus with a different number and some minor route changes sometimes but their experience from getting one point to the other may not be that different than what they’re experiencing today," Marin Transit board member and Marin County Supervisor Katie Rice said during Monday's meeting.

Riders going from the Canal neighborhood up to Novato would have to make a transfer at the San Rafael Transit Center because of the proposed changes to Route 35. The agency is planning to discontinue Route 35 service north of the Northgate Shopping Center. Northbound service to Marinwood and Novato would still be offered through Routes 49, 71 and 257.

"It’ll be a timed transfer," Betts said during the meeting. "The service levels will be just as high, the frequency will be just as high, but it will require getting on and off a vehicle.

Paratransit also will be impacted by changes in operating hours of fixed routes, Betts said. For this proposal, the only major change would be for Route 22 from San Rafael to Sausalito, which would discontinue late afternoon and evening trips.

Additionally, service is proposed to be reduced in Tiburon and Larkspur. Residents in the Tiburon hills currently served by Route 219 will now have to travel to Tiburon Boulevard to board the bus. Betts said the changes are a response to low ridership.

"Ridership is about 50-55% of pre-COVID levels whereas most of our fixed route services are back at 90-100% of pre-COVID levels," Betts said.

The agency is also proposing to remove two of its supplemental school routes — Routes 645 and 651 — that serve students in Novato and San Rafael. Betts said other fixed bus routes will still provide service to the schools and at an increased frequency compared to the existing routes.

As of December, the agency had 151 drivers and is targeting to add another 25 to address the shortage. Betts said the agency will be looking to increase wages and continue to upgrade and build operations and maintenance facilities. On Monday, the board voted unanimously to increase the starting wages for paratransit drivers by $2.44 per hour, or about a 13% increase, with current wages increased by a similar amount.

Additional information and maps of the proposed changes can be found at marintransit.org/2023servicechanges.

Marin Transit is proposing to make the following changes to 12 bus routes:

Route 22 (Downtown San Rafael — Sausalito)

Route 23/23X (Canal — Fairfax Manor)

Route 29 (East Corte Madera — MarinHealth Medical Center)

Route 35 (Canal — Northgate Shopping Center)

Route 49 (Downtown San Rafael — Novato)

Route 71 (Novato — Marin City)

Route 219 (Tiburon — Strawberry)

Route 251/257 (Downtown San Rafael — San Marin)

Routes 645/651

Source: Marin Transit

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