Golden Gate Transit ‘bullet bus’ debuts Monday – Marin Independent Journal

Golden Gate Transit ‘bullet bus’ debuts Monday

By Mark Prado

Posted: 06/12/2009 03:37:46 PM PDT

Golden Gate Transit on Friday announced a new route in San Rafael, the 101 express bus. (IJ photo/Frankie Frost)

Golden Gate Transit will launch a new express bus Monday that could cut the commute by up to 30 minutes for some Marin riders.

Bus passengers traditionally have taken the Route 80 out of Santa Rosa and through Marin to get into San Francisco. But beginning Monday, some of the commute service will be taken over by the new Route 101 express service.

“We are taking advantage of the new HOV lanes on 101, which is a real time-savings opportunity,” said Ron Downing, chief of bus route planning for the transit district. “We believe people will save between 20 and 40 minutes. We will evaluate it as it goes.”

Earlier this year widening work on Highway 101 was completed, creating complete north and southbound lanes through the county. Previously, the carpool lane disappeared between Lucky Drive in Corte Madera and North San Pedro Road in San Rafael that clogged the freeway during commutes.

The Route 101 now will run in the carpool lane in Marin. Beginning in Santa Rosa, it will then stop in Petaluma and then only at Redwood Boulevard at Grant Avenue in Novato, the San Rafael Transit Center and Spencer Avenue in Sausalito before serving a full complement of stops in San Francisco. In doing so 10 stops in Marin will be bypassed, speeding the trip for passengers on the 40-seat bus.

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