Dumbarton Bus Expands Service With MTC Bridge Toll Funds

Word is starting to get out about expanded service on the Dumbarton Express bus line, which links the Palo Alto area with BART’s Union City station across the Dumbarton Bridge. Daily ridership now stands at approximately 1200, up from about 1,000 passengers per day prior to the expansion, and the numbers are continuing to climb.

As of July 2, 2012, AC Transit nearly doubled service on the Dumbarton Express, going from 49 daily trips to 92 trips. MTC is fueling the expansion in 2012-13 with $2,168,641 in Regional Measure 2 (RM2) bridge toll funds that it allocated in June 2012.

With the help of four leased buses, AC Transit re-routed Line DB to extend into the Stanford University campus, increased frequency on Line DB1 from every 30 to every 20 minutes and lengthened the hours of operation to 8 p.m. In all, 11 daily trips were added to the Line DB service (which goes to Stanford’s Oval), and 32 daily trips were added to the Line DB1 service (which goes to Stanford Research Park, a business park near the Stanford campus).

The boost in Dumbarton bus services is an interim step while work continues on an RM2-mandated study of a potential rail line across the Dumbarton Bridge. Officials at SamTrans expect to release a draft EIS/EIR document for the Dumbarton Rail Line for public review in the spring of 2013.

Meanwhile, AC Transit Senior Transportation Planner Tony Divito expects ridership on the expanded Dumbarton Express bus line to grow significantly as the fall semester starts at the Stanford University campus. 

“We expect ridership to mature as more commuters are made aware of the service and seasonal demands pick up,” Divito said.

MTC Transit Coordinator Christina Verdin is also optimistic. “We expect a surge in ridership in the fall when the vacation season is over,” she said.

For riders who have already discovered the new routing and schedule, the boost in service is much appreciated.

Kelly Alires rides the Dumbarton Express across its namesake bridge on a regular basis from the Union City BART station. “The service expansion has made it a lot easier for me to catch buses on time because they’re coming in a lot more frequently. I used to have to wait 45 minutes to an hour for some bus rides,” Alires said.

Elizabeth Ames takes the Dumbarton Express on her daily commute to work and is also pleased by the changes. “The increased services are great. Now I don’t have to wait an extra hour for the bus and can get home from work a lot faster,” she said.

The Dumbarton Express service is managed by the Dumbarton Bridge Regional Operations Consortium, which includes AC Transit, BART, SamTrans, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Union City Transit. The express service is operated under contract with MV Transportation, while AC Transit oversees the service on behalf of DBROC.

More information about new Dumbarton Express routes and transit scheduling is available at www.actransit.org. 

— Sarah Zahedi, MTC Intern