Editing Golden Gate Transit

{{Short description|Public transit operator in the North Bay region of California}}
{{Infobox Bus transit
| name            = Golden Gate Transit
| logo            = Golden Gate Transit Logo.jpg
| logo_size       = 175px
| image           = Golden Gate Transit route 18 bus on North Point Street, August 2017.JPG
| image_size      = 300px
| image_caption   = Golden Gate Transit 908 in San Francisco
| company_slogan  =
| parent          = [[Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District]]
| founded         = {{Start date|1972|01|01}}
| headquarters    = 1011 Andersen Drive<br />[[San Rafael, California]]
| locale          =
| service_area    = [[San Francisco Bay Area]] (San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and Contra Costa Counties)
| service_type    = [[bus service]]
| alliance        =
| routes          = 11
| destinations    =
| stops           = 270
| hubs            = Copeland Street Transit Mall ([[Petaluma, California|Petaluma]]), Donahue & Terners ([[Marin City, California|Marin City]]), Redwood & Grant ([[Novato, California|Novato]])
| stations        = [[El Cerrito del Norte (BART station)|El Cerrito del Norte BART]], [[San Rafael Transit Center]], [[Santa Rosa Transit Mall]]
| lounge          =
| fleet           = 124 buses
| ridership = {{American transit ridership|CA San Francisco Golden Gate MB daily}} ({{American transit ridership|dailydate}}){{American transit ridership|dailycitation}}
| annual_ridership = {{American transit ridership|CA San Francisco Golden Gate MB annual}} ({{American transit ridership|annualdate}}){{American transit ridership|annualcitation}}
| fuel_type       =
| operator        =
| ceo             =
| website         = {{URL|goldengate.org/bus}}
}}
'''Golden Gate Transit''' ('''GGT''') is a [[public transportation]] system serving the [[North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|North Bay region]] of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] in California, United States. It primarily serves [[Marin County, California|Marin County]], [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma County]], and [[San Francisco]], and also provides limited service to [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa County]]. In {{American transit ridership|annualdate}}, Golden Gate Transit had a ridership of {{American transit ridership|CA San Francisco Golden Gate MB annual}}, or about {{American transit ridership|CA San Francisco Golden Gate MB daily}} per weekday as of {{American transit ridership|dailydateasof}}.

Golden Gate Transit is one of three transportation systems owned and operated by the [[Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District]]; the others are the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] and [[Golden Gate Ferry]], both of which connect San Francisco and Marin County. Funding for cross-bridge "Transbay" bus service is partially funded by Golden Gate Bridge tolls in addition to traditional federal and state sources.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |date=15 June 2007 |title=Golden Gate Transit: History |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |url=http://goldengatetransit.org/researchlibrary/history.php |access-date=12 November 2007}}</ref> GGT operates some bus service within Marin County under contract with [[Marin Transit]].

== History ==
[[File:Golden Gate Transit bus stop sign in February 2008.jpg|thumb|right|130px|Golden Gate Transit's original logo, in use since the start of service, as seen on a bus stop sign in San Rafael.]]
[[File:Hamilton 014 2.jpg|thumb|right|130px|Golden Gate Transit's second generation logo, in use until 2010, as seen on a bus stop sign in Novato.]]
[[File:goldengatetransit 1572 sanrafael.jpg|thumb|right|130px|A Golden Gate Transit bus on Route 101 at the San Rafael Transit Center.]]
Golden Gate Transit service began on January 1, 1972, as the culmination of years of work for the Golden Gate Bridge to alleviate traffic congestion, reduce pollution, and take over unprofitable commuter bus service operated by [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jeff Greer |date=1971-12-27 |title=Greyhound's Stormy Era Of Commute Runs Ending |pages=1–25 |work=Daily Independent Journal |location=San Rafael, California |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/california/san-rafael/san-rafael-daily-independent-journal/1971/12-27/ |url-access=subscription}}</ref> GGT had previously began operating local bus service in Marin County under contract with [[Marin Transit]] beginning December 15, 1971.<ref>[https://www.goldengate.org/bus/history-research/timeline/ Bus Timeline]</ref> Initial service ran on two corridors in San Francisco: Civic Center routes on [[Van Ness Avenue]] and the McAllister/Golden Gate [[one way pair]], and Financial District routes on North Point Street and the Battery/Sansome pair.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1971 |title=S.F. Stops Listed for New Marin Transit |page=6 |work=The San Francisco Examiner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98784044/the-san-francisco-examiner/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The system initially operated with 152 buses, including 20 leased buses, out of garages in Novato and Santa Rosa and a temporary facility in San Rafael. A permanent garage opened in San Rafael in 1974, and the facility was expanded in 1987 to house additional administrative staff. Transbay commuter bus service was reduced in 1987 as a result of declining ridership associated with a shift in jobs from San Francisco to Bay Area suburbs. However, that increase in the number of suburban jobs led to the initiation of commuter bus service from Sonoma County to Marin County employment centers in 1990.

In 1992, the District and opened  the [[San Rafael Transit Center]]. The transit station was designed as the hub in a [[hub-and-spoke]] local bus system and immediately became GGT's busiest transit station. In 1993, acting on behalf of [[Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area)|MTC]], GGT began operating service between Marin and Contra Costa counties via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. That same year, the district initiated inter-county [[paratransit]] service, as required by the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]]), through an agreement with Marin County and its paratransit contractor, Whistlestop Wheels.

Significant service reductions were implemented in 2003 as a result of a declared fiscal emergency. As a result of the restructuring, all GGT service to the Sonoma Valley and Sebastopol was eliminated. Ferry Feeder bus routes to the ferry terminals in Larkspur and Sausalito were also discontinued. This fiscal emergency helped spur the passage of Measure A by Marin County voters in 2004. The sales tax measure established a new funding source for Marin Transit and was a catalyst for changes to the contract the District had with Marin Transit. Marin Transit assumed control over local bus service planning, and it began transitioning some service to private contractors.

On June 15, 2009, Golden Gate Transit began operating Route 101,<ref>[http://goldengate.org/news/transit/servicechanges_jun09.php servicechanges_jun09]</ref> which provides all-day service between Santa Rosa and San Francisco with fewer stops, similar to many [[bus rapid transit]] "light" systems that rely on stop spacing changes rather than capital improvements to speed up buses. Introduced initially as a weekday-only route, service was expanded to Saturdays in June 2010 and to Sundays and holidays in September 2011.

On December 13, 2015, service to Contra Costa County on Route 42 was merged with Route 40. The next day, service began on Route 580,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current News – District &#124; Golden Gate |url=http://goldengate.org/news/transit/route-580-enjoy-the-ride.php}}</ref> which was the District's first transit line into nearby [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]]. The latter experiment failed and Route 580 was discontinued in September 2016, however the numeric designation was revived when Route 40 was renumbered to Route 580 in December 2021. GGT buses returned to Alameda County in February 2019 to provide Early Bird Express bus service under contract with [[Bay Area Rapid Transit|BART]], which was discontinued in January 2024.

As a result of declining ridership due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] and the resulting loss in operating revenue, including a reduction in Golden Gate Bridge tolls,<ref>[https://www.goldengate.org/assets/1/6/2021-0520-financecomm-no11-proposedfy21-22budget-attachment.pdf Proposed Budget FY 2021–2022]</ref> bus service was dramatically reduced throughout 2020. GGT had 27 routes at the beginning of the pandemic and just seven routes by December 2020. In March 2022, Route 4 was revived as Route 114. Limited additional service was restored in January 2024 with the addition of Routes 164 and 172X and April 2024 with the addition of Route 580X.

== Service area ==
Golden Gate Transit serves cities and communities in four Bay Area counties: San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and Contra Costa.<ref>[https://www.goldengate.org/assets/1/6/transit_guide_summer21.pdf Golden Gate Transit Guide Summer 2021]</ref>

=== Cities and communities served ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|-
! County
! '''Cities''' and communities
|-
| [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa County]]
| '''[[El Cerrito, California|El Cerrito]]''', [[Point Richmond, Richmond, California|Point Richmond]], '''[[Richmond, California|Richmond]]'''
|-
| [[Marin County, California|Marin County]]
| '''[[Corte Madera, California|Corte Madera]]''', [[Greenbrae, California|Greenbrae]], [[Ignacio, California|Ignacio]], '''[[Larkspur, California|Larkspur]]''', [[Marin City, California|Marin City]], [[Lucas Valley-Marinwood, California|Marinwood]], '''[[Mill Valley, California|Mill Valley]]''', '''[[Novato, California|Novato]]''', [[San Quentin, California|San Quentin]], '''[[San Rafael, California|San Rafael]]''', '''[[Sausalito, California|Sausalito]]''', [[Strawberry, Marin County, California|Strawberry]], [[Terra Linda, San Rafael, California|Terra Linda]]
|-
| [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]]
| [[Civic Center, San Francisco, California|Civic Center]], [[Financial District, San Francisco, California|Financial District]], [[Marina District, San Francisco|Marina District]], [[Presidio of San Francisco|The Presidio]], [[South of Market, San Francisco|SoMa]]
|-
|[[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma County]]
| '''[[Cotati, California|Cotati]]''', '''[[Petaluma, California|Petaluma]]''', '''[[Rohnert Park, California|Rohnert Park]]''', '''[[Santa Rosa, California|Santa Rosa]]'''
|-
|}

=== Routes ===
{{Main|List of Golden Gate Transit routes}}

== Fleet ==
Golden Gate Transit has operated mostly suburban-style coaches fitted with high-back seats, overhead luggage bins, and reading lights since its inception. The full fleet has been equipped with wheelchair lifts since 1997 for [[accessibility]].<ref>[https://www.goldengate.org/bus/history-research/fleet/ Fleet]</ref>  Bike racks were installed on buses beginning in 1999 as part of the Bike Racks on Buses program.<ref>[http://goldengate.org/news/transit/newracks.php Golden Gate Transit Expands Bike Carrying Capacity with New 3-Position Bike Racks]</ref>

=== Current fleet ===
The active fleet consists of 124 buses owned by Golden Gate Transit. GGT also operates buses owned by Marin Transit, as described [[Marin Transit#Fleet|here]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Year
! Fleet numbers
! Quantity
! Make
! Model
! Length (feet)
! Floor type
! Number of seats
! Bike rack style
! Propulsion
! Image
|-
| 2012 (924–955)<br />2015 (956–980)
| 924-980
| 57
| [[Motor Coach Industries|MCI]]
|[[MCI 102DL3 & D4500#D4500CT|D4500CT]]
| 45
| High
| 57
| Luggage bay
| Diesel
| [[File:GGT MCI D4500CT.jpg|100px]]
|-
|2019
|1901–1967
|67
|[[Gillig Corporation|Gillig]]
|[[Gillig Low Floor|Low Floor]]
|40
|Low
|39
|Front mounted
|Diesel-electric hybrid
|[[File:Golden Gate Transit Train Replacement Shuttle.jpg|100px]]
|}

=== Historical fleet ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Year || Fleet numbers || Quantity || Make || Model || Length (feet) || Number of seats || Wheelchair lift || Image || Current status
|-
| 1971 (701-812)<br />1972 (813-860) || 701-860 || 160 || [[General Motors|GM]] || [[GM New Look bus|New Look]] || 40 || 45 || No || [[File:GGT New Look.jpg|100px]] || Retired by 1997; bus 812 retained for historical purposes
|-
| 1982 || 1001–1016 || 16 || GM || Advanced Design || 40 || 43 || Yes || NA || Retired by 1998
|-
| 1983 || 1017–1067 || 51 || GM || Advanced Design || 40 || 41 || Yes || NA || Retired by 2000
|-
| 1986 || 501–504 || 4 || [[Gillig Corporation|Gillig]] || Phantom || 30 || 26 || Yes || NA || Retired in 2003
|-
| 1987 || 401–421 || 21 || [[Motor Coach Industries|MCI]] || 102A3 || 40 || 45 || Yes || NA || Retired by 2001
|-
| 1989 || 1101–1180 || 80 || [[Transportation Manufacturing Corporation|TMC]] || RTS || 40 || 39 || Yes || NA || Retired in 2003
|-
| 1990 || 514–521 || 8 || [[New Flyer Industries|New Flyer]] || D60HF || 60 || 62 || Yes || NA || Purchased used from [[SamTrans]] in 2003; retired in 2007
|-
| 1991 || 1181–1243 || 63 || TMC || RTS || 40 || 40 || Yes || [[File:GGT TMC RTS.jpg|100px]] || Retired by 2012
|-
| 1994 || 1401–1441 || 41 || [[Flxible]] || [[Flxible Metro|Metro]] || 40 || 45 || Yes || [[File:Charleston Flxible Metro bus - CARTA 1411, ex-Golden Gate Transit (2018).jpg|100px]] || Retired by 2008
|-
| 1996 (601-630)<br />1997 (631-632)<br />1999 (633-646) || 601-646 || 46 || MCI || 102DL3 || 45 || 57 || Yes || [[File:GGT MCI 102DL3.jpg|100px]] || Retired by 2015
|-
| 1997 || 1301–1330 || 30 || [[NovaBus]] || RTS || 40 || 43 || Yes || [[File:GGT NovaBus RTS Single.jpg|100px]] || Retired by 2010
|-
| 2000 || 1251–1264 || 14 || NovaBus || RTS || 40 || 39 || Yes || [[File:GGT NovaBus RTS 40.jpg|100px]] || Retired by 2016
|-
| 2001 || 505-508 || 4 || NovaBus || RTS || 30 || 27 || Yes || [[File:GGT NovaBus RTS 30.jpg|100px]] || Retired in 2016
|-
| 2003 || 691-696 || 6 || MCI || D4500 || 45 || 57 || Yes || [[File:GGT MCI D4500.jpg|100px]] || Retired in 2016
|-
| 2003 || 1501–1580 || 80 || [[Orion Bus Industries|Orion]] || V || 40 || 41 || Yes || [[File:GGT Orion V.jpg|100px]] || Retired in 2019
|-
| 2010 || 901–923 || 23 || MCI || D4500CT || 45 || 57 || Yes || [[File:GGT MCI D4500CT.jpg|100px]] || Retired to contingency fleet in 2024
|-
|}

== Fares ==
Golden Gate Transit charges different fares, depending on distance (zones) traveled and method of payment.<ref name="faretables">[https://www.goldengate.org/bus/bus-fares-payment/ Bus Fares & Payment]</ref> Fares can be paid with cash or [[Clipper card]]. As of July 1, 2024, adult cash fares are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Zone<br />To/from
! San Francisco
! colspan="2"|Marin County
! Sonoma County
! East Bay
|-
! 1
! 2 & 3
! 4
! 5 & 6
! 7
|-
! 1
| $5.50
| $8.50
| $9.75
| $14.50
| $5.25
|-
! 2 & 3
| $8.50
| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|$2.00
| $9.75
| rowspan="2"|$7.25
|-
! 4
| $9.75
| $8.00
|-
! 5 & 6
| $14.50
| $9.75
| $8.00
| $3.00
| $13.25
|-
! 7
| $5.25
| colspan="2"|$7.25
| $13.25
| $3.00
|-
|}

[[File:goldengatetransit transfer local.jpg|thumb|right|125px|A Golden Gate Transit transfer allowing travel for up to 3 hours.]]
Adult Clipper fares are discounted 20% for most trips, except within Marin County where the discount is 10% to match Marin Transit fares. A 50% discount is provided to youth (ages 5 through 18), senior (ages 65 and over), disabled ({{Access icon|12px}}), Medicare passengers, and passengers with a Clipper START card. In addition, as a result of a bus service contract with [[Bay Area Rapid Transit|BART]], fares for travel between San Francisco and the East Bay match the equivalent BART fares.

Transfers are issued by the farebox upon request at the time of cash fare payment. Clipper automatically tracks transfers.<ref name="transit_guide">{{Cite news |last=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |date=10 June 2018 |title=Golden Gate Transit Guide, Summer 2018 |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District}}</ref> Transfers are valid for two hours for intra-county travel and three hours for inter-county travel and can be used twice. Round-trips are not permitted for inter-county travel. Full transfer privileges are available to/from Marin Transit.

Transfers are issued between GGT and Golden Gate Ferry only for Clipper customers. Transfers are available to/from some connecting transit systems, including [[AC Transit]], [[San Francisco Municipal Railway|Muni]], [[Petaluma Transit]], [[Santa Rosa CityBus]], [[Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit|SMART]], [[SolTrans]], [[Sonoma County Transit]], and [[WestCAT]]. Muni, SMART, and SolTrans transfers are available only to Clipper customers.

Golden Gate Transit accepts one-day and 31-day passes issued by Marin Transit for rides within Marin County. No other pass products are accepted.

== Club Bus program ==
The '''Club Bus''' program was administered by Golden Gate Transit through 2012. It provided commuter clubs with contract support for subscription bus service on routes not otherwise operated. The program also provided a 30% subsidy for the cost of service.<ref name="patch">{{Cite news |date=December 7, 2010 |title=Commute Club Struggles to Break Even |work=Sonoma Patch |url=http://sonoma.patch.com/articles/commute-club-struggles-to-break-even |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323000948/http://sonoma.patch.com/articles/commute-club-struggles-to-break-even |archive-date=March 23, 2012}}</ref> The program required the formation of not-for-profit organizations to collect riders' subscription fees and develop schedules.

{{anchor|Marin Commute Club}}
The Marin Commute Club, which began service in 1971, had direct service from Marin County to three [[University of California, San Francisco]] locations (Parnassus Campus, Mission Bay Campus, San Francisco General Hospital) not otherwise served by Golden Gate Transit. Daily ridership dropped from 300 in 1978 to 120 in 2012, and down further to 55 in 2014 shortly before the service was discontinued altogether.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=UCSF Distinguished Faculty Members Receive Public Service Awards |date=May 26, 1978 |publisher=University of California, San Francisco |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fU2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA208 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/Ch11.pdf |title=UCSF 2014 Long Range Development Plan |publisher=University of California, San Francisco |year=2014 |page=133 |chapter=Chapter 11: Cross Campus Support}}</ref>

{{anchor|Valley of the Moon Commute Club}}
The Valley of the Moon Commute Club provided bus service to the San Francisco Financial District from the [[Sonoma Valley]], which otherwise does not have direct bus service to San Francisco. It was created in 1973 and operated as part of the Club Bus program until 2011.<ref name=more /><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 2, 2010 |title=Sonoma/SF commute club running out of gas |work=Sonoma Valley Sun |url=http://news.sonomaportal.com/2010/12/02/21620/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207022539/http://news.sonomaportal.com/2010/12/02/21620/ |archive-date=December 7, 2010}}</ref> At its peak, the club had service on five buses. However, the [[Great Recession|economic downturn]] and changing travel patterns resulted in substantial service reductions and fare hikes. By late 2010, service had been cut to one round-trip with a monthly subscription fee of $350.<ref name="patch" /> In February 2011, with the club on the brink of shutting down, service was transferred to a private tour company.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Derek |date=February 28, 2011 |title=Petaluma bus company rescues Sonoma Valley commuter club |work=The Press Democrat |url=http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110228/ARTICLES/110229523 |access-date=September 11, 2018}}</ref> Due to further ridership declines, service was discontinued in May 2014.<ref name="more">{{Cite news |last=Hoban |first=Bill |date=April 1, 2014 |title=Commute club needs more riders |work=Sonoma Index-Tribune |url=http://www.sonomanews.com/csp/mediapool/sites/SIT/News/story.csp?cid=3388573&sid=744&fid=181}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}
* [[Golden Gate Ferry]]
* [[Marin Transit]]
* [[Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.goldengatetransit.org}}

{{SFBAtransit}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District|Transit]]
[[Category:Bus transportation in California]]
[[Category:Public transportation in Contra Costa County, California]]
[[Category:Public transportation in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Public transportation in Sonoma County, California]]
[[Category:San Rafael, California]]
[[Category:Transit agencies in California]]
[[Category:1972 establishments in California]]