Sacramento Regional Transit District

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Sacramento Regional Transit District
Locale Sacramento, CA
Transit type Light rail, bus
Began operation March 12, 1987
System length 37.42 mi (light rail)
Daily ridership 110,600[1]
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Operator(s) Sacramento Regional Transit District

The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as the RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority.

The RT operates a large light rail system and connecting bus service in the Sacramento area, covering 418 square miles.

Contents

[edit] Bus service

The RT system operates 80 bus routes, as of 2005, with service between 5:00 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. daily. Frequencies range between every 15 and 80 minutes (some express buses run only a few times a day).

Since light rail has opened, buses have generally acted as feeders to light rail routes. Since 2004,

Sacramento Bus at Mather Field Station
Sacramento Bus at Mather Field Station

with the exception of some neighborhood shuttle vans (see The Neighborhood Ride below), the bus fleet has consisted exclusively of Orion V standard-floor and Orion VII low-floor coaches powered by compressed natural gas.

[edit] Most popular bus routes

The numbers provided are average weekday boardings.

  • Route 81 Florin/65th 4,930[2]
  • Route 51 Broadway/Stockton 4,000[3]
  • Route 01 Greenback 3,280[4]

[edit] Light rail

Map of the RT light rail system
Map of the RT light rail system

The RT operates a 37.42-mile (60.21 km) light rail system, with two lines, 45 stations, and 76 vehicles (Siemens AG Duewag U2A vehicles and more modern CAF vehicles).[5] There are 76 vehicles in the entire fleet. Lines on the system operate from 4:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily, with service every 15 minutes in the day and every 30 minutes at night. The light rail system, with 49,800 daily riders, is the tenth busiest in the United States.. SRTD operated 20 ex-Santa Clara VTA Light-rail LRVs (830-850).

[edit] Most popular light rail stations

Numbers provided are average weekday "on & offs"

  • St. Rose of Lima Park 10,100[6]
  • 16th Street 6,500[7]
  • Watt/I-80-29th Street 4,600[8]

[edit] Watt/I-80-Downtown-Meadowview Line ("Blue Line")

LRVs are readied for use on May 9, 1991.
LRVs are readied for use on May 9, 1991.
A CAF trainset Train at Mather Field/Mills station
A CAF trainset Train at Mather Field/Mills station
A Siemens trainset in downtown Sacramento
A Siemens trainset in downtown Sacramento
A CAF trainset in downtown Sacramento
A CAF trainset in downtown Sacramento

The first line, which opened in 1987, was an 18.3-mile (29.4 km) route between Watt/I-80 station in North Sacramento, through downtown, and continuing east on Folsom Blvd. to Butterfield Way station. It was built at a cost of $176 million USD (1987), including the cost of vehicles and maintenance and storage facilities. Much of the line, when it was first built, was single-tracked, though improvements over the 1990s allowed much of the original system to be double-tracked. The line was built mainly using a railroad right-of-way, coupled with use of structures of an abandoned freeway project. A limited portion of the route runs on streets, mainly in downtown Sacramento.

Surprisingly, the line became more popular than anyone anticipated--in fact, so popular that further expansions and improvements were necessary. Two new stations at 39th and 48th streets opened in 1995, and a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) extension to the Mather Field/Mills station opened in 1998. In June 2004, a further extension from Mather Field/Mills to Sunrise was opened.

On September 26, 2003, the South Line opened for 6.3 miles (10.1 km) between the 16th Street station on the Watt/I-80-Downtown-Mather Field/Mills line and a station at Meadowview Road in the south end, which is the first phase of a planned longer 11.2-mile (18.0 km) line to Elk Grove. Much of the extension follows a railroad right-of-way. When it opened, 7 new stops were added to the system. Following a June 2005 reconfiguration of the light rail lines, the South Line merged with the Watt I-80/Downtown line (formerly part of the previous Watt/I-80-Downtown-Sunrise line) effectively combining the old line with the new.

[edit] Listing of stations on the Blue Line

Station Opened Parking on site Bike lockers Transfers
Watt/I-80 1987 Yes Yes RT buses 1, 9, 10, 15, 19, 26, 80, 84, 93, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107
Buses to Citrus Heights
Watt/I-80 West 1987 Yes No No transfers on site
Roseville Road 1987 Yes No No transfers on site
Marconi Arcade 1987 Yes No RT buses 18, 25, 86, 87
Swanston 1987 Yes No No transfers on site
Royal Oaks 1987 No No RT buses 20, 22, 23
Arden/Del Paso 1987 Yes Yes RT buses 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 88
Globe 1987 No No RT bus 15
Alkali Flat/La Valentina 1987 No No RT bus 33
12th & I 1987 No No No transfers on site
Cathedral Square (westbound: 10th & K, eastbound: 11th & K) 1987 No No No transfers on site
St. Rose of Lima Park (westbound: 7th & K, eastbound: 9th & K) 1987 No No Gold Line
Many RT buses
7th & Capitol (southbound); 8th & Capitol (northbound) 1987 No No Gold Line
8th & O 1987 No No Gold Line
Archives Plaza 1987 No No Gold Line
13th Street 1987 No No Gold Line
16th Street 1987 No Yes Gold Line
RT buses 6 and 63
Broadway 2003 No No RT buses 51, 62, 63
4th Avenue/Wayne Hultgren 2003 No No RT bus 62
City College 2003 No No RT bus 83
Fruitridge 2003 No No RT buses 61, 205, 252
47th Avenue 2003 Yes No RT bus 63
Florin 2003 Yes No RT buses 54, 65, 81
Meadowview 2003 Yes No RT buses 4, 5, 47, 56, 63,
Buses to Elk Grove

[edit] Downtown-Sunrise Folsom Line ("Gold Line")

In June 2005, following a reconfiguration of the light rail system, the Sunrise-Downtown Line (Gold Line) was created (it formerly continued beyond the downtown St. Rose of Lima Park station to Watt/I-80); it runs from St. Rose/K-Street to Sunrise with an extension to the Folsom area that opened on October 15, 2005. On December 8, 2006 it was extended even further to the downtown Amtrak depot (a.k.a. the Sacramento Valley Station); connecting the light rail system to the national rail system for the first time.

[edit] Listing of stations on the Gold Line

Station Opened Parking on site Bike lockers Transfers
Sacramento Valley Station 2006 Yes ($) No Amtrak
Many RT buses
7th & I/County Center (outbound only) 2007 No No Many RT buses
8th & K (inbound only) 2006 No No Blue Line
Many RT buses
7th & Capitol (outbound); 8th & Capitol (inbound) 1987 No No Blue Line
8th & O 1987 No No Blue Line
Archives Plaza 1987 No No Blue Line
13th Street 1987 No No Blue Line
16th Street 1987 No Yes Blue Line
RT buses 6, 63, and 64
23rd Street 1987 No Yes No transfers on site
29th Street 1987 No No RT buses 38, 50E, 67, 68
39th Street 1995 No Yes RT bus 37
48th Street 1995 No Yes No transfers on site
59th Street 1987 No Yes No transfers on site
University/65th Street 1987 No Yes RT buses 26, 34, 36, 38, 81, 82, 83, 87
Power Inn 1987 Yes Yes RT buses 8, 61, 63
College Greens 1987 No Yes RT bus 61
Watt/Manlove 1987 Yes Yes RT buses 72, 80, 84, 255, 261
Starfire 1987 No Yes RT buses 80 and 84
Tiber 1987 No Yes No bus transfers on site
Butterfield 1987 Yes Yes RT bus 28
Mather Field/Mills 1998 Yes Yes RT buses 21, 28, 72, 73, 74, 75
Zinfandel 2004 No No RT bus 28
Cordova Town Center 2004 No No RT bus 28
Sunrise 2004 Yes Yes RT buses 73, 74
Hazel 2005 Yes No
Iron Point 2005 Yes No
Glenn 2005 Yes No
Historic Folsom 2005 Yes No

[edit] Future projects

As mentioned above, the extension to Sutter street in Historic Folsom began service in 2005. On December 8th, 2006 0.7-mile (1,120 m) extension of the existing Gold Line reached the Amtrak station in downtown Sacramento, known as the Sacramento Valley Station. Other future plans also include a light rail line from downtown, via the neighborhood of Natomas, to the Sacramento International Airport, which will open in the future. A planned extension to Roseville, once a top priority, has been on the back burner for years. Extensions to Davis, Elk Grove, Woodland and other locations are shown on the 20-year plan. In December 2007, Regional Transit committed to completing the extension from the Sacramento Valley Station to Richards Blvd by 2010 which would take it through the planned Railyards project and extend it to the also planned Township 9 development.

[edit] Meadowview to Consumnes River College extension began fall 2007

Construction on the Phase 2 plan for the South line extension has begun. It will go as far south as Consumnes River College. Construction began ahead of schedule and could be finished as soon as 2009. Originally a planned extension all the way to the city of Elk Grove, the line will end at the college due to 4 costly changes made by public demand. These changes include a new station at Morrison Creek (half-way between Meadowview and Franklin), improved pedestrian access to Franklin and center parkway stations, the elimination of certain design options, and a 2000 car parking structure to replace previously planned surface parking at Cosumnes River College.

[edit] Paratransit

To meet the requirements of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, the RT established a Paratransit service in 1993, which is a door-to-door service for the disabled.

[edit] The Neighborhood Ride

In 2006, RT created a new division internally known as "Community Bus Service". Known to the ridership as "The Neighborhood Ride"

  • The Neighborhood Ride shuttles are smaller buses (approximately 35 feet or less in length) that offer residents greater mobility and new transit options on local intra-community trips.
  • The Neighborhood Ride shuttles have regular, pre-designated, pre-scheduled routes, but offer special curb-to-curb service (not to be confused with ADA/paratransit door-to-door service). The shuttles are able to "deviate" travel off route up to ¾ of a mile to pick up and drop off seniors, age 62 and older, and disabled passengers who have a valid ADA/paratransit pass.
  • Reservations must be made at least one day in advance. To request a route deviation on The Neighborhood Ride, please call the NEW Phone # (916) 556-0250. The reservation line is open Sunday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Passengers pay only $1.00 per trip (50 cents for passengers paying a discount fare). RT monthly passes, daily passes, and transfers are also accepted. Passengers with valid ADA/paratransit passes ride free.
  • All passengers (except for Lifetime Pass holders), including those with valid ADA/paratransit passes, must pay an additional $1.00 for a route deviation.
  • Marked bus stops are located along the route and printed schedules are available at several locations around Sacramento and on Regional Transit's Web site.
  • Each shuttle can transport 12-17 passengers and up to two wheelchairs.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ RT at a Glance (stm). Combined 43,600 light rail and 67,000 bus. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
  2. ^ RT Fact Sheets - Sacramento Regional Transit
  3. ^ RT Fact Sheets - Sacramento Regional Transit
  4. ^ RT Fact Sheets - Sacramento Regional Transit
  5. ^ Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail FACT SHEET (pdf). Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
  6. ^ RT Fact Sheets - Sacramento Regional Transit
  7. ^ RT Fact Sheets - Sacramento Regional Transit
  8. ^ RT Fact Sheets - Sacramento Regional Transit

[edit] External links

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Currently operating light rail and streetcar systems in the United States
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