Transit Talk with the General Manager

March 01, 2024
Henry Li, General Manager/CEO
General Transit Questions
Archived
Opening Remarks:
As spring approaches this month, activities at SacRT are in full bloom!


Today, Friday, March 1st, is Transit Employee Appreciation Day! Please join me in thanking each SacRT employee for all they do to keep our region moving. Today and every day, we express gratitude to the unsung heroes who make our daily commute possible.


Help us thank them by sharing a commendable experience with a SacRT Transit Hero by email at customeradvocacy@sacrt.com, share a story on social media using #SacRTTransitHero or fill out our Google form at sacrt.com/transithero. We will share your stories with our frontline staff on Transit Driver Appreciation Day on Monday, March 18, 2024. Please be sure to thank your drivers on this day, or any other day.


Speaking of moving our region, construction will continue during March for the station platform modifications to accommodate the height requirement of our new low-floor trains. Construction will be centered around the Gold Line in Rancho Cordova with the Zinfandel Station and Mather Field/Mills Station each scheduled to be closed for a few days this month. Bus bridges will be in place to connect riders to their trains. For dates and details, please visit sacrt.com/stationclosure. Please note that the construction schedule can change due to weather.


SacRT GO paratransit service riders are invited to attend an open house this month. A virtual open house will be held on Friday, March 22, 2024, and an in-person open house on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at the Citrus Heights Community Center. For more information, please visit sacrtgo.com.


If you are interested in helping to improve the lives of seniors and persons with disabilities, please consider joining SacRT's Mobility Advisory Council (MAC). The MAC meets once per month in the SacRT Auditorium at 1400 29th Street, Sacramento. If you have questions, or recommendations for potential members, please contact Priscilla Vargas, SacRT's ADA Compliance Officer, at 279-234-8391 or by email at pvargas@sacrt.com.


There are many great local events scheduled in March, and SacRT can help get you there without the traffic and parking hassles. We are even offering free rides with the free ride flyers available at sacrt.com/freerideflyer for the following events: Free Museum Weekend: Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3, 2024; Capitol Beer Fest: Saturday, March 2, 2024; Mills Station Arts & Culture Center Concert Series: Friday, March 8, 2024; and City of Trees Parade: Saturday, March 9, 2024.


Also starting this month, the Florin Farmer's Market will be moving to the Florin light rail station! The first one will be on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Another great Farmer's Market is held at the Sunrise light rail station on Saturdays. Hop on a train to get to one of these great local markets. More information is available at sacrt.com/apps/farmersmarket.


Looking ahead to April, service adjustments will be implemented on several bus routes. Starting Sunday, April 7, 2024, minor changes will be made to bus routes 19, 86, 88 and 137. Learn more at sacrt.com/aprilservice.


Now let's get to your questions!


Rancho Cordova, CA:  With construction starting later this year on the Dos Rios Station, how would this effect the Richards Blvd grade crossing? Will it get signal & traffic modifications? Also, would Sproule Ave where the tracks are planned to turn off N 12th St into its own ROW, Will Sproule Ave become grade crossing signal protected?

Reply:  There are no changes to the Richard Blvd. grade crossing. All new track work will tie into the existing tracks prior to the grade crossing. Sproule Avenue will still have traffic signals, no grade crossing equipment will be added. More information on this project will be available in the coming months.


Citrus Heights 95610, CA:  The proposed 2024 modifications speak of adding a new morning trip to Route 93 to close a long gap in service. Closing long gaps nearby brings to mind the related Route 193 which was unfortunately suspended in 2022. There is talk about getting State workers back to Downtown offices more regularly. I wonder if that would prompt other Downtown employers to also ask their workers to come back more often. Next I wonder about Downtown workers who live in Citrus Heights, Roseville and this vicinity. If you bring back Route 193, that could make getting to Downtown faster by providing a transfer directly to the Blue Line. What do you think about reactivating Route 193 at this time? Yes, this does include both AM and PM revivals. Share your thoughts!

Reply:  Thank for your comments and suggestions. We have been receiving an increasing number of requests for commuter bus service from many different communities and will be doing a significant re-evaluation of our commuter service, post-pandemic, including Route 193.


Downtown Sacramento, CA:  Hey Henri Li. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to have the 1st new light rail train to run on the green line since it’s the least busy light rail line?

Reply:  Good question. We will rollout the new low-floor trains on both the Gold and Green lines when service begins this summer.


Sacramento , CA:  Will either light rail line get 10/20min service with the addition of the new rolling stock? Especially 10 mins during peak hours

Reply:  When we roll out the new low-floor trains this summer, we won't be able to provide 10 minute service, but will have 15 minute frequencies across the system. We hope in the future to work in more frequent peak commute trips.


Sacramento , CA:  What can be done to support a light rail extension to Elk Grove instead of BRT

Reply:  We were awarded a $500,000 Caltrans planning grant in partnership with the City of Elk Grove to study both BRT and light rail extension into the city. The City of Elk Grove is currently leading the project and will solicit bids with planning work expected to start this year.


Sacramento , CA:  Is there any chance of 105 being a full service route? It serves quite a lot of areas that 56 doesn’t

Reply:  This is an area we’ll look at when we start a comprehensive network plan review starting later this year. We completed one in 2019, but a lot has changed since the pandemic.


Sacramento, CA:  Where can I gain access to the April 2024 schedules/timetables for the routes like 88 and 86 that are undergoing minor schedule adjustments? I went online and saw the article, but did not see a link to the new timetables. Thank you for looking into this.

Reply:  Thanks for asking. We should have the updated timetables available at sacrt.com/aprilservice in the next couple weeks.


Rancho Cordova, CA:  I read that in mid to late March, the Mather Field/Mills Station will encounter a half station closure, in which, if I read it correctly, the outbound side will be closed, but the inbound side will continue to remain open. So that confuses me a bit? What are the specific dates then that the inbound side will be closed and the outbound side be open? Wouldn’t it have made more logical sense to close the entire station for a week, similar to what was fairly recently done at both Tiber, Cordova Town Center, and in about ten days… Zinfandel? Thank you.

Reply:  Due to Mather Field/Mills Station having four bus transfer routes at the transit center, we are unable to close the station entirely because there’s over 1,300 boardings and alightings during a weekday. To reduce impact on riders we are closing the outbound side (toward Folsom) from Monday, March 18 to Sunday, March 24 and the inbound side (toward Sacramento) from Monday, April 1 to Sunday, April 7.


Sacramento , CA:  Who do I talk to about the new s700 bells? I like the current e-bells on the older trains better and wanted to know if the new ones could also have it instead of what they have now

Reply:  The older trains had a mechanical bell, which has been replaced industry-wide with a digital sound generator that is used on newer fleets. The older style is impaired by frequent use, which causes the sound level to fade, which is an issue we deal with in our older Siemens cars. The new style is much more reliable and the sound level is constant.


Midtown Sacramento, CA:  Hey Henry, when will the remaining stations downtown on the gold line; 13th street, archives plaza, and 7th and k for southbound trains be modified for the new Siemens s700s?

Reply:  All the Gold Line stations are on schedule to be completed in June 2024, depending on rain in the construction schedule. We will begin working on the downtown stations in May.


Sacramento , CA:  Can most e Tran services get improved to under 1 hour? On that same note, can some routes like 114 be changed to be more straight lines down major roads like most sacrt routes?

Reply:  We’re planning a major study and potential changes to our commuter bus offerings, including Elk Grove in particular. We hope to get that underway in the next few months.


Sacramento , CA:  Will articulated busses be used for the Stockton BRT?

Reply:  Good question. That is something we will consider in the upcoming alternatives analysis.


Sacramento , CA:  I saw a video on an alternate idea of transit to the airport, and I wanted to know your thoughts. Instead of extending the green line which will take decades it would appear, the tracks that Amtrak uses with the capital corridor is used and it will branch off to the airport from there, thus bypassing the cost of the new bridge. This can either be a temporary or permanent solution. I also want to know if this is even feasible at all because it’s an interesting alternative.

Reply:  You may be thinking of or referring to the Valley Rail project. The San Joaquin train that currently comes to Sacramento from Stockton and the San Joaquin Valley is planned to change tracks to the former Western Pacific tracks along the 20th Street alignment through Downtown Sacramento. It would have a northern terminal in the Natomas/Rio Linda area. From there, a shuttle bus would take customers the rest of the way to the airport. There are no plans for new tracks to the airport from any of these freight/Amtrak routes. More info is in SacRT’s 2024 service changes, for which today is actually the final day of public review. You can find those at sacrt.com/2024service. More info on Valley Rail: Valley Rail - San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (sjrrc.com)


Folsom, CA:  Hey Henry. Can bus route f10 also be like a “bus bridge” despite being the long way around as light rail service at Folsom stations between iron point and historic Folsom is temporarily suspended?

Reply:  Good question, if we change the schedule to have the driver serve the Iron Point station, it will delay the F10 schedule plus we would have to change the driver bid process and it would impact the driver's lunch and recovery times.


Sacramento , CA:  Is there plans to annex Roseville

Reply:  No formal plans or proposals for Roseville annexation have been proposed. SacRT is a regional transit provider and would be open to further annexation considerations.


Sacramento , CA:  If and when the streetcar line gets built, will there be an option to expand the route and frequency if it performs well?

Reply:  The Downtown Riverfront Streetcar will operate with 15 minute headways, similar to other SacRT light rail services. West Sacramento has initial plans to extend the Streetcar alignment south and connect to current development south of I-80.


Sacramento , CA:  I want to know if this is possible, what if the green line becomes an extension of the streetcar project, and streetcar trains will just run along the entire line and into west sac. As far as the line to the airport, maybe a new route past township 9?

Reply:  Combining Streetcar and Greenline has been considered as an operational efficiency in the future. As these projects develop further, we will analyze the opportunities they present for coordination.


Sacramento, CA:  With the April service changes coming, especially with regards to Routes 86 and 88, will bus operators of these routes be allowed to stop at posted bus stops at the Sacramento Convention Center on J Street at 14th Street, as well as the bus stop on L Street at 14th Street by the southern side of the Performing Arts Center, or will these particular two bus stops be prohibited for routes 86 and 88 to stop at? Thank you.

Reply:  We added the stops along the extended route., our Facilities team will add the stop numbers to those bus stop signs soon!


South Sacramento , CA:  Hey Henry. When will smart ride or existing bus routes serve the delta shores shopping center west of cosumnes river college?

Reply:  The nearby Franklin-South Sacramento SmaRT Ride zone is already very large and has only a few buses, so we do not feel we can extend it to Delta Shores without additional buses and operators. We have been considering new fixed-route service, which is in our Short Range Transit Plan. But our funding for expansion is very limited, so we have not been able to fund this yet.


Elk Grove, CA:  Good morning. I would like to know if there are plans to bring SacRT SmaRT Ride to the west side of Elk Grove. If there aren't, will there be, and if not, why?

Reply:  We do not plan on extending SmaRT Ride farther into Elk Grove. Our agreement with Elk Grove has been to avoid duplication with fixed-route service. We have some overlap in the eastern part of Elk Grove, so as to provide connections for SmaRT Ride to fixed-route. But mostly, SmaRT Ride covers the areas unserved by fixed-route. We have to use our resources cautiously and cannot afford to run SmaRT Ride on top of our existing investment in fixed-route service.


Folsom, CA:  I notice that on some of the older light rail cars with the advertising wraps that the adhesive has become opaque reducing visibility out those windows to nearly zero. Any plans to remove the wraps from the windows?

Reply:  Wraps cannot cover more than 50 percent of the windows to allow riders to see in and out. The only exception is if there was a wrap on a train prior to our new policy. Moving forward, those will be phased out.


Closing Remarks:
Thank you for your questions. The next GM Chat will be Friday, April 5, 2024.