South Service Area – 2019 Service Restructure Proposal – County Connection

South Service Area – 2019 Service Restructure Proposal

South Restructure Concepts

Danville, Dublin, San Ramon

South Service Proposed Map

  • Eliminate Route 36, but retain coverage on its productive northern alignment with an extended Route 35. Review alternate transit options for San Ramon
  • Extend Route 35 to Crow Canyon Rd., roughly double frequency of service
  • Eliminate Route 97X and increase peak Route 35 frequency. Route 35 has similar travel times to the current Route 97X from East Dublin BART and Bishop Ranch. Route 97X has also has low ridership. This proposal requires additional discussion with Bishop Ranch
  • Remove Alcosta Blvd. from Route 92X to speed up run times

37 thoughts on “South Service Area – 2019 Service Restructure Proposal”

  • If Route 36 is abandoned what is the plan for the high school kids at California high school who depend on the bus to get to school and get back home after school that live in the Crow Canyon – Bollinger Canyon Road – Norris Canyon area?

    • Thank you for your inquiry. It looks like the two stops closest to California HS are at Montevideo Dr. and Tareyton Ave. Based on the data we’ve collected, both of these stops average about 1 boarding per day. The goal of the proposed service restructure is to increase productivity, system-wide. We are currently in the midst of gathering feedback and will evaluate all comments to try and minimize large scale negative impacts.

      If you have any additional feedback, feel free to contact us.

      Sincerely,
      Customer Service
      (925) 676-7500
      http://www.cccta.wpengine.com

      • After school, there is a special time where the bus will stop in front of the school to pick up the kids. I think you will find that there are more boardings by the high school students then. Would there be a plan to provide this service if Route 36 is canceled?

        • It sounds like you are referring to Route 636, which offers one afternoon trip and does serve California HS. There are no changes proposed to that route.

  • I had similar misgivings initially about eliminating route 36 which I currently use to get from my home near the Talavera stop along Bollinger Canyon to BART at Dublin Pleasanton. Rerouting the route 35 to drive that section of the old 36 route solved that for me and is actually going to give me a much more frequent service. I’m all for that! I feel sorry for the seniors along San Ramon Valley Blvd (like the 20709 San Ramon Valley stop) and the Fircrest neighborhood as well as Village Parkway. They lose all service as Wheels gave up on that area too. I know you plan to look into alternative service such as a discount pay-per-ride like they are testing in Dublin but that is still pretty expensive as they don’t accept passes or Clipper cards nor are they free during the midday. And, of course, we still have no County Connection service of any kind to Dublin Pleasanton BART on weekends. I have to drive and park. Still a bummer! Taking a very limited offering 321 all the way to Walnut Creek then 3 long train segments to get to the Tri Valley just doesn’t do it for me and, I imagine, many others. 3 hours to get to the BART station closest to San Ramon doesn’t make sense. But I digress.. Anyway, it appears the new route of the 35 will add 15 minutes to the length of the run which no longer makes a trip from Bishop Ranch to BART as fast as the discontinued 97X (which was the partial rationale for eliminating that express route). I wonder if terminating 35 at the new City Center stop rather than the Transit Center would make sense. The trip could then go the old 36 route (in a reverse loop), hit the Transit Center AFTER having already made the Crow Canyon pickups and then make a traditionally fast route (now even a little faster) to BART going straight down Camino Ramon to Bollinger Canyon. That would still make it an attractive replacement to the Bishop Ranch employees for the old 97X. The northbound trip would go to Transit Center then the reverse direction of old 36 to Crow Canyon ending again at the City Center stop. This assumes City Center will be a turnout stop where a bus can park out of traffic, of course. By the way, this could be where 321 parks on weekends, too. Incidentally, it would be great to have the new 35 start its last trip from BART at night in the 8:00 hour or maybe even later like the 36 does now. Right now 35 stops running after 7:45. It would help to adjust the BART departure times later about 5 minutes or so while you are at it. BART schedule adjustments mean that current buses are leaving just as trains arrive and many passengers are running and flagging the County Connection buses down as they are pulling out. Wheels already adjusted their times so this doesn’t happen so much.

  • Well, I use the 35 to go from the Bollinger area to and from BART each day to get to work in Livermore, and occasionally to get to the airport. It’s quite convenient, and increased service would be nice. (But how about something on the weekends?). That said, I occasionally use the 35 to go north in the system, either to the City Center area or transit center (TC) for connections to Danville/WC. The new loop to the west side will make travel to the transit center (and points northward in the system) a much longer proposition. Can’t you go to the TC as before and continue on to the west side in a kind of “figure eight” loop pattern so that more timely connections at the TC can be retained for both the west and east sides of San Ramon? You don’t seem to be doing your namesake any favors here.

    • We understand the need for weekend service but, given our current budgetary constraints, we are not in a position to add weekend service. However, we continue to look at alternatives in our service restructure to see how we can shift resources to improve productivity. As far as the proposed route 35 alignment, we plan to stop at City Center before continuing on Bollinger Canyon towards Crow Canyon. This stop is in close proximity to most other stops in Bishop Ranch, including the TC.

      • Well, it’s a 15 minute walk from the new City Center to the TC. That is not necessarily consistent with the “connection purpose” of a transit center and doesn’t really facilitate timely northward connections. But as John says (below), it’s likely this has all been decided anyway and all this back and forth is just a formality.

  • Folks. I get the impression these changes as “proposed” are already a solid plan. These comments are not meant to solicit suggestions and are just a legal formality that CCCTA has to go through. Just plan for the changes and leave it at that.

  • I am all for changes for route 35 , but one suggestion change the timing a bit while going to the Bart and coming back. We are always running to catch the Bart or bus. Some drivers leave even though they see train coming on the platform. Either increase the frequency to every 15 minutes or match the schedule of Bart

  • I also wish there was weekend service to/from Dublin BART, and I agree with Moh regarding the time schedules between the #35 and BART. I’m always running from the bus stop to BART so I won’t miss the train and end up waiting 20 minutes for the next one! Same with going from BART to catch the bus. I’ve missed the bus before by a minute and had to wait 30 minutes for the next bus! i think the bus frequency should be increased to every 15-20 minutes also.

  • Reroute 36 to West Dublin/Pleasanton BART (Downtown Dublin/Stoneridge Mall) instead of East BART.
    Focus 36 on Alcosta-Village Parkway-West Dublin/Pleasanton BART segment and operate on weekends too.
    This is an underserved segment of South San Ramon that is also no longer served by Wheels.
    Currently, 36 only stops once an hour, on weekdays, and is routinely behind schedule due to its long route.
    All of which are more tangible reasons for reduced ridership than simply a perceived lack of demand.

  • I take the 36 bus from Tareyton and Pine Valley to Dublin BART. How will I be affected. It is the only way I have to get to work. Will the new 35 route cover that? I hope so. If not, what are my choices?

  • Route 35 is much needed for San Ramon Commuters. Please make the frequency max 20 mins for working hours. This will be very helpful.

  • We really need WEEKEND SERVICE from SAN RAMON TO DUBLIN! There would be a huge spike in commuters going that way if the 35 bus did weekend service it would be steller!

    Bus frequency every 15-20 mins would be better.

    Having buses run 6am to 10pm Monday-Sunday would be better. It’s a BIG PANIC when 7:45pm is your curfew for last bus from Bart. I know some of us commuters are stuck in overtime at work or when Bart has delays for numerous reasons i.e. late trains, emergencies, contraction, you name it.

    Maybe a route to the nicer parts of Danville would be nice too. Like Blackhawk area and even Camino tassajara.

    This new proposal I’ve definitely been waiting for. Any or all efforts to improve the life of us commuters is appreciated.

  • i hope they increase the timings so that people can use the 35 later than 7 pm from city center to BART especially with the whole bishop center coming up with more restaurants and shops and theater.

    Retail industry wants us to work late in the evenings and at least 1 day over the weekend and I lost a lot of opportunities since there was no bus after 7. Pm . Not everyone can afford a car or drive a car . We pay a lot of taxes but transportation really sucks here

  • I’m looking forward to the increased service on the 35, but please make sure to coordinate your new schedule with LAVTA-Wheels to be sure the shared bus stop at Dublin Bart will be available for use so riders aren’t unduly delayed waiting to be let on or off the bus and that there will be also be reasonable transfer connections with their routes to minimize wait time.

  • Please have the Route 35 around East Branch Parkway/Windmere Pkwy in the peak hours too which currently runs only for 4 hours during noon. The office goers from this strip totally misses and had to walk to almost 30 minutes each way to ‘Bollinger Canyon Rd/E Branch Pkwy’ to board bus. Actually since you have increased the frequency it is very much suggested to have alternate buses go around this strip throughout the day and marking bus number preferably as 35A, 35B etc. to signify the route. Further if you could make this then having a frequency 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes will be more suitable for the commuters around this strip by way of not having to wait 40 minutes if they miss a bus but just 30 minutes which currently is the situation if they are ready to wait for the particular bus that would go around the strip. Thank you.

  • If route 36 is deleted, the people from valley vista senior housing can not get to BART or markets and stores such as sprouts and target in the dublin downtown area. Also, part of 97X or 92X can be extended to valley vista and get back on the freeway at bollinger. PLEASE KEEP OR ADD A BUS ROUTE TO VALLEY VISTA. Route 36 is very critical to the senior people at valley vista.

  • If route 36 is deleted, the people from valley vista senior housing can not get to BART or markets and stores such as sprouts and target in the Dublin downtown area. Also, part of 97X or 92X can be extended to valley vista and get back on the freeway at Bollinger Canyon. PLEASE KEEP OR ADD A BUS ROUTE TO 20709 San Ramon BLVD. Route 36 is very important to the senior people live in valley vista senior housing.

  • I am very disappointed when heard that round 36 will be canceled. Route 36 is right at the corner of my house. And that is one of the important reason I decided to buy this house because of the convenience for my parents. Who are 74/75 year old now. They live with me and. They don’t drive but they have active life style. My mom heavily rely in route 36 to go to Dublin Bart, to do shopping and go to places nearby, such as ranch 99, etc. loosing the bus will be home very inconvenient to them; also , my daughter is going to middle school, we were considering asking her to take the bus next year when she is older. Loosing the service will leave an impact to our family. Please re- consider that. And what is the substitute?

  • I am very disappointed when heard that round 36 will be canceled. Route 36 is right at the corner of my house. And that is one of the important reason I decided to buy this house because of the convenience for my parents. Who are 74/75 year old now. They live with me and. They don’t drive but they have active life style. My mom heavily rely in route 36 to go to Dublin Bart, to do shopping and go to places nearby, such as ranch 99, etc. loosing the bus will be home very inconvenient to them; also , my daughter is going to middle school, we were considering asking her to take the bus next year when she is older. Loosing the service will leave an impact to our family. Please re- consider that. And what is the substitute? Inconvenience for senior; kids school transportation?

  • There is a possibility that route 25 will be one of the routes that will be elliminated. I think a better way of doing it would be running the 25 in the morning, last bus leaves Walnut Creek BART at noon, then that’s where the 93x should come in and take riders from Lafayette BART to Antioch BART. The 93x should use the route that the 25 currently uses to get to Antioch BART

  • I live in Sunny Glen and my only mode of transportation is Bus 36 which takes me to Dublin and San Ramon Transit Center. Without this bus line, I would be completely stranded. I wish that for people like me there will be some help in public transportation. With the elimination of Bus 36, there will be a large area with no access to a bus. Please take this into consideration when deciding.

  • I’m extremely disappointed that route 36 is going away. I live in the Sunny Glenn area and use this route to go to the Dublin Bart station. What alternative is County Connection going to provide for the southern area of San Ramon. Thank you.

  • I urge increase Route 35 frequency through E. Branch Pkwy & Windermere Pkwy. The route passes WRMS & DHVS, and my kids rely on it to come home.

  • If service of route 35 will be increased, it would be very helpful if the frequency of buses to E Branch Pkwy/Windemere Pkwy(2112) can be increased. This is the only route that high schoolers and middle schoolers used to access Windemere homes on E Branch Pkwy and Windermere Pkwy after schools. Right now it runs from 11:23am to 3:53pm, with frequency of every an hour. If the students miss one bus they have to wait for an hour to get the next one. Also if they have school activities run later than the last bus they have to walk home which may take more than an hour. If the frequency can be increased to half an hour and the last bus can be extended to one hour later would make huge difference. As a parent of two students(Dougherty High and Winderemere Ranch Middle school respectively) who use this service every day, I would really appreciate it if this can be considered.

  • If you eliminate 36, I lose my access to my dentist and to easy-access shopping for basic goods. What will service that area of San Ramon and Dublin? What will service the Cal High students?

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