‘It’s about damn time.’ This new ride to Sacramento International Airport will cost just $2.50

After years of clamor from riders and local officials, Sacramento finally launched a robust bus service between downtown and Sacramento International Airport on Jan. 5, filling what had been a perplexing blank spot in the region’s transit network.

Sacramento, in fact, may have been the last major U.S. city without a full airport bus service until now, transit officials said.

The new line, a joint venture of Sacramento Regional Transit and Yolobus, will run seven days a week from 3:24 a.m. to midnight. Buses will travel via Interstate 5 at 20-minute intervals during peak hours and 30-minute intervals the rest of the day. That allows travelers to catch the first planes out in the morning and to catch the bus back after all but the latest arriving flights at night.

“As Sacramento continues to grow towards a world class city, a frequent and direct public transit connection to the Sacramento International Airport is long overdue,” SacRT General Manager Henry Li said. “This affordable mobility option is sure to be a boost to our regional economy and our quality of life.”

SacRT incoming board chairman Steve Hansen was more blunt. “I’d say it’s about damn time. It’s a travesty RT hasn’t done this until now.”

The cost is $2.50 per person per ride on the SacRT buses. Yolobus, however, charges $2.25 per ride. The two agencies are discussing setting one uniform price, but have not agreed yet, Yolobus executive Terry Bassett said.

The two agencies are promoting the service as less expensive than Uber and cheaper for most travelers than the airport’s $10 per night economy parking lot. It does, however, require riders to get themselves to one of a handful of pickup spots downtown.

The new service launches just one month after SuperShuttle, the original airport rideshare company, ceased operations here and nationally.

Buses will bring riders directly to terminals A and B. Downtown stops include one a block and one-half from the Sacramento Valley Station Amtrak train depot, making it easier for travelers from Davis, Vacaville and Fairfield to get to the airport via rail and bus, rather than driving their car. Officials say they hope eventually to include a stop directly at the train depot.

SacRT also is working on state legislation that may allow buses to ride on certain freeway shoulders, including on I-5, to avoid congestion, Hansen said.

Sacramento airport officials say they welcome the bus service for airport, airline and concession employees as well as fliers.

“We are thrilled Sac RT has started bus service to SMF,” Airports Director Cindy Nichol said. “This has been a long desired service for our passengers and a great connector between downtown and the airport.”

New funding makes bus service work

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the service is a key part of the city’s push to turn more toward clean energy and get cars off the road. “Under the leadership of Henry Li, SacRT has emerged as a leader in building transit ridership and finding creative, environmentally sustainable ways to move more people. This new bus line to the airport is an important step in that evolution.”

The airport bus service is not entirely a first, however. Yolobus already runs an hourly circuit that includes Davis, Woodland, downtown Sacramento and the airport. Those Yolobuses will continue, bolstered by SacRT buses. The service could ultimately run every 15 minutes, depending on demand.

Sacramento Regional Transit officials previously declined to offer airport service, saying the buses would not carry enough passengers to be worth the cost of providing the service. The agency had been focused instead on plans to build a light rail line to the airport. New regional transportation funding sources now make the line viable, SacRT officials said.

The bus service will be financed in part by rider fares, in part by SacRT funds, and also by a Green Region program grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Those funds are based on a plan for the system to be run eventually with all-electric buses.

Agency officials says they still plan to extend light rail to the airport at some point, but that project remains hugely expensive at $1 billion-plus. SacRT has not yet come up with the local funding match it will need in order to qualify for federal rail construction funds.

SacRT bus schedules show the travel time to be 16 minutes from the closest downtown stop to the first terminal drop-off during early and late hours, when the freeway is not congested, and a few minutes longer during peak commute times.

The buses, in fact, likely will get to the airport faster than the planned light rail line would.

That’s because light rail, as planned, would stop a dozen or more times in Natomas on its way to the airport, whereas the buses will go directly to the airport on the freeway after leaving downtown. SacRT designed the proposed light rail line with numerous stops so it can be used, perhaps primarily, by Natomas residents as well as Yuba and Sutter county commuters to get to and from downtown jobs without having to drive on I-5.

Bus service details are available on the SacRT’s airport bus website page.

This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.