Community Corner
New SamTrans Route Skips SSF Bart: Does It Affect Your Commute?
Sunday was the first day of the new weekend SamTrans route -- the first major route change in about 10 years. How does it affect your commute?
The new weekend bus route between Daly City and Palo Alto means a slight change for South San Francisco commuters. The bus no longer enters the Bart station, but stops on El Camino outside the station.
Patch wants to hear from you how on the route that replaces the weekend 390 and 391, will affect your commute.
The bus stop at San Bruno Bart has also been removed, though the bus still makes a stop nearby at Sneath and El Camino.
Find out what's happening in South San Franciscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to SamTrans spokesperson Christine Dunn, avoiding the actual Bart stations will make the bus route faster for people traveling through South City and San Bruno on their commute.
"We did an analysis of the route and we found that most of the people who are going to take Bart will continue to ride the bus to the Daly City Bart station because it's less expensive to travel from there into San Francisco," Dunn said.
Find out what's happening in South San Franciscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Eliminating the South City Bart station drive-through knocks a few minutes off each bus trip. But what does it mean for people who aren't just commuting through and who actually get on and off the bus in South San Francisco?
"I'm just frustrated that they don't go in the station because at night it's not safe and there's barely any light," Sarah Funes Tweeted Monday about the South City change.
"I don't mind the SSF stop at all. Besides using it myself, it's a quick in-and-out," John Baker Tweeted from South City.
In addition to making the route a little faster, SamTrans expects the ECR to provide buses on a more frequent basis to weekend commuters, than the 390 and 391 did.
This weekend, the ECR will operate through Monday because of the Labor Day holiday.
"We think this is going to be a big imporovement for riders," Dunn said. "This weekend it will operate for three days, and we'll observe how it goes."
Take the poll below to tell us whether you think the change will affect your commute.
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