Transit services are getting easier to use in the Sacramento region. Here’s why
People in the Sacramento area can get free rides to vaccination sites.
They can request on-demand public shuttles via their phone in the Arden, Carmichael, Folsom, Natomas and North Sacramento areas.
And no one at Sacramento Regional Transit District has been or is getting laid off or furloughed for COVID-related reasons.
A big part of the reason for all this is a fresh injection of $117.8 million on its way to Sacramento area transit operations from the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan Congress and President Joe Biden approved in March.
The latest round of federal funding to the Sacramento Regional District is in addition to about $133 million that has “been critical... to maintain safe operations, protect employees and the riding public,” said Sacramento Regional Transit District spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez.
It’s also allowed the operation to expand and continue expanding.
The agency recently added three “microtransit shuttle zones,” called SmaRT Ride, in three communities.
The program lets people in the service areas be picked up or dropped off at the nearest corner. People living in gated communities can board at the entrance gate.
The service provides rides in downtown Sacramento, Midtown, East Sacramento, Franklin-South Sacramento, Garber-Calvine, Rancho Cordova, Natomas-North Sacramento and Citrus Heights.
Transit changes
Among the changes implemented last month:
▪ The Arden-Arcade zone merged with Carmichael to create the Arden-Carmichael zone, which provides service to Kaiser Morse and American River College.
▪ The Folsom zone expanded to serve the developing community of Folsom Ranch, south of Highway 50.
▪ The North Sacramento zone expanded further into Natomas, serving Arena Boulevard shops, Garden Highway, River Oaks, Gateway Oaks, the University Technical Institute and North Natomas Regional Park, to become the Natomas-North Sacramento zone.
Coming this summer will be an expansion of the Gerber-Calvine zone and a new zone in the Elk Grove area.
To use the services, download the free SmaRT Ride App. Enter the pick-up address, as well as the destination. The addresses need to be in the same service zone.
The app then provides an estimated pick-up time, lets users track their bus in real-time, and tells them when the ride is about to arrive.
Don’t want to use the app? Call 916-556-0100 or by go online to ondemand.sacrt.com.
People going to get vaccinated against COVID can ride free, as long as the vaccination site is in Sacramento County within RT’s service area.
The rider needs to show a COVID-19 vaccine appointment confirmation. That can be an email, text or vaccine card.
Transit agencies had pushed hard for the federal relief, saying that not only was ridership in free fall but that officials needed more money to COVID-proof their fleet.
The Sacramento team used the money for fogging and disinfecting vehicles and sanitizing all touch points, providing employees with personal protective equipment, enforcing rear door boarding, requiring and providing masks to passengers, creating seating policies to provide physical distancing and installing protective plexiglass operator barriers on buses.
The agency did not have any COVID cases among its 1,287 employees until four months after the pandemic began, and still has not had a COVID case related to workplace exposure.
Employees have been able to stay on the job, thanks in large part to the federal money, even though service was cut back last year. Virtually all service was restored by September.
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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