The South City Community Shuttle began operation in November 2014 and is providing free transportation to more than 250 seniors, students and commuters per day in South San Francisco.
The shuttle connects BART, SamTrans buses, downtown shopping, medical facilities, the city’s main library and other local destinations.
The shuttle service was launched with funding support from San Mateo County’s Measure A, which allowed South San Francisco to restore transit service on a bus route that had been eliminated in 2013, jeopardizing mobility for low-income riders, including students and seniors. Through collaboration and pooling of resources, South San Francisco and SamTrans were able to replicate most of the lost bus service and create a new and free public transit option for anyone living in, working in or visiting the city.
Community partners actively support the shuttle: A senior living facility provided feedback on riders’ experience, the shuttle route and schedules, while Kaiser Permanente and South San Francisco developed a partnership, with Kaiser providing financial support to the shuttle, which stops in front of Kaiser’s South San Francisco medical center.
Operating on an annual budget of $180,000, the South City Shuttle makes 15 trips each weekday, from 7:15 a.m. to 6:40 p.m., with service beginning and ending at the South San Francisco BART station. The shuttle is equipped to accommodate wheelchairs and two bicycles.
In one indication of the shuttle’s success, its funding has been renewed for two additional years. A recent enhancement to the service is real-time GPS tracking, and automatic stop announcements are expected to be added in the near future.
