SMART Train Service Begins Friday Afternoon, August 25

[rosetown]

For those that are interested in knowing service begins with 12:49 pm southbound route. Opening day will be free. After that for 10 days from Aug 26 - Sept 4 Half Off fare.

(There is a $1.50 adult fare transfer credit between SMART and all the north bay transit services: Santa Rosa City Bus, Sonoma County Transit, Petaluma Transit, Marin Transit, Golden Gate Transit.)

I plan on purchasing a 31-day pass on Clipper Card since it is also half off, $100 instead of the standard price of $200.

Looking at public transportation only I think there are about three different ways to get to San Francisco.

Getting on a Golden Gate Transit Bus at the San Rafael Transit Center, ex. bus route 101 which runs seven days a week.

Another option is taking a bus from the San Rafael Transit Center to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. The free shuttle bus is supposed to be Golden Gate Transit Bus route 31 but I have not seen or heard anything about what day that bus will start running. But there are other buses that go to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal such as Marin Transit Bus route 228 which runs seven days a week.

Other option could be getting on Golden Gate Transit Bus route 40 that goes from the San Rafael Transit Center to El Cerrito Del Norte BART Sation and taking BART to San Francisco.

[Imagery]

Elton John (as well as Kenny Rogers) both wrote songs referencing this boondoggle:

In addition to the $20/day round trip fare from Santa Rosa to San Rafael:

"On a warm Summers' eve, on a train bound for nowhere"...since the train doesn't connect to the Larkspur Ferry in order to make the trip to San Francisco...

"...rich man can ride, and the hobo, he can drown..."...given that this train doesn't take you any further than San Rafael, you have to spend an additional $2 (each way) to catch the bus to the Larkspur Ferry, where you spend an additional $8.50 (each way) to finish the trip into San Francisco. Multiply that by 20 round trips per month, and in no way is this transportation on the cheap.

[TicketToRide]

Certainly not sustainable as transit for the masses, especially for those who travel daily between the 2 counties. The midnight train to Georgia perhaps cost less.
*I do appreciate the original post that provided the information about different ways to get from Sonoma to Marin...

Elton John (as well as Kenny Rogers) both wrote songs referencing this boondoggle:

In addition to the $20/day round trip fare from Santa Rosa to San Rafael:

"On a warm Summers' eve, on a train bound for nowhere"...since the train doesn't connect to the Larkspur Ferry in order to make the trip to San Francisco...

"...rich man can ride, and the hobo, he can drown..."...given that this train doesn't take you any further than San Rafael, you have to spend an additional $2 (each way) to catch the bus to the Larkspur Ferry, where you spend an additional $8.50 (each way) to finish the trip into San Francisco. Multiply that by 20 round trips per month, and in no way is this transportation on the cheap.

[Chris Murray]

While I have long had my own reservations about the viability of the SMART train I think the previous commenters should read more closely the original post and also read the fare options on the SMART website. A typical commuter would buy the Clipper pass and thus pay $10/day assuming 20 trips/month. In addition there are tax benefits if an employer participates in a program whereby the employer makes the transit pass available to the employee as a tax free benefit - I don't know the details but no doubt anyone seriously interested will be able to find out from SMART.

[podfish]

While I have long had my own reservations about the viability of the SMART train I think the previous commenters should read more closely the original post and also read the fare options on the SMART website. A typical commuter would buy the Clipper pass and thus pay $10/day assuming 20 trips/month. In addition there are tax benefits if an employer participates in a program whereby the employer makes the transit pass available to the employee as a tax free benefit - I don't know the details but no doubt anyone seriously interested will be able to find out from SMART.

I'm curious as to how this will work out. Some co-workers have said the trains are completely full already. Will the ridership go up or down? Maybe we're flirting with Yogi's "no-one rides it - it's too crowded". It wouldn't need to change too much to be useful for me. I'm far from a station and working longer hours than the train wants to support for now. If it's uncomfortably crowded that's just one more problem. They can solve two of my three issues with more trains, so I'm optimistic.

As far as the costs -- I've always resented the idea that as an average American I'm expected to spend about $10 a day just to have a car parked and ready. Using it, say for a trip to SF and back, adds maybe $15 more for fuel and maybe $20 for parking if you're lucky. If you have a newer SUV or truck, it's a lot worse than that. It's not all that much less even if you have a cheap high-mileage beater, either (like me), once you consider repair expenses - unless you also fix it yourself (like me). So the costs the earlier poster cited are essentially equivalent - though to really balance it you should get rid of an expensive vehicle and use a cheaper smaller one since you won't commute with it. Maybe stop a few hurricanes that way, too.