MASCOTS Phase II
Marin-Sonoma Coordinated
Transit Service Plan
October 27, 2026
Public Hearing on Proposed
Updates to Sonoma County
Transit Bus Service
Sonoma County Transit
§ Sonoma County Transit has been in existence since 1980 § Current fixed route fleet has 28 CNG buses, 18 electric buses, and 3 gasoline cutaways; 19 routes
§ We also operate Paratransit Service, operated by the
Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL),
with a fleet of 34 cutaways and minivans
§ FY26 at 87% of pre-COVID; 850,000 rides in FY26
§ Sonoma County Transit has free fare programs for:
• Youth (SCTCA Go Sonoma)
• Veterans (County)
• Santa Rosa Junior College (SJRC)
• Sonoma State (SSU)
• Local Routes (subsidized by local jurisdictions)
What is MASCOTS?
§ Collaborative comprehensive analysis of
transit services in Highway 101 corridor
§ Focused on regional services § Grounded in post-pandemic travel behavior and work patterns.
Goals § Grow ridership § Better use of existing resources § Work as if one agency 3 3
MASCOTS Phase 1
Recommendation
Summary
§ SMART increases frequency and span to offer regular
consistent coverage as the primary service in
Highway 101 Corridor
§ Golden Gate Transit provides more frequent Marin –
San Francisco service, no all-day Sonoma service
§ Less Marin Transit duplication with GGT
§ Initial results: 28% SMART ridership increase;
8.5% GGT ridership increase
§ Phase 2: Better local bus connections to SMART in
Sonoma County
4 5
MASCOTS Phase 2: Sonoma County
§ Leverage connections to SMART
§ Reduce duplication of service
§ Plan as if one bus agency in Sonoma County
§ Collaborative process focused on the customer
Context: shared fiscal and on-time performance challenges Address Challenges as if One System
§ Improve connections to reduce impact of service reductions § Focus on corridors with significant overlapping service:
• Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa Ave, Petaluma Blvd,
McDowell Blvd, Windsor-Santa Rosa
Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa
Current service: CityBus Route 1, and seven SCT
routes operate on an uncoordinated schedule
Recommendation:
§ Improve CityBus Route 1 frequency to 15 minutes
§ Interline CityBus Route 2, one-seat ride to SMART
§ All SCT regional service except Route 60 would end
at the Transit Mall; SCT Routes 20, 30, 44, and 48
would no longer serve Mendocino Ave.
§ SCT Route 60 would continue up Mendocino and
serve County Center buildings
Benefits:
§ Better connections to SMART
§ Improve frequency and reliability of all services
§ Better use of resources
6 Current Proposed
Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa
Current service: Two CityBus Routes (3, 5) and three
SCT Routes (42, 44, 48) operate on an uncoordinated
schedule
Recommendation:
§ Combine Routes 44 and 48 into a single coordinated
route that provides hourly service between Santa
Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Petaluma
§ End the consolidated Route 48 at Transit Mall
§ Adjust SCT Route 42 for efficiency
§ Coordinate the Route 3 and Route 48 schedules for
30-minute service on Santa Rosa Ave
Benefits:
§ Improve frequency and reliability of all services
§ Better use of resources
7 Current Proposed
N. McDowell & Petaluma Blvd, Petaluma
Current service: Duplicative service on both corridors by SCT (44, 48) and Petaluma Transit (2, 10)
Recommendation:
§ Petaluma Blvd. North only served by new consolidated SCT Route 48 (discontinue 44)
§ N. McDowell only served by PT Route 2 with increased frequency § PT Route 2 serves SMART Petaluma North and SRJC; corridor north of Corona Rd. served by SCT Route 48
Benefits:
§ Improve reliability for Petaluma Blvd. and entire Route 48 § Increased frequency on N. McDowell Blvd.
§ Improved connection to SRJC from SMART
§ Better use of resources
8 Current
Proposed
Windsor – Santa Rosa Corridor
Current service: Duplicative service of SCT Route 62, SMART Train, and SMART Connect Bus
§ Low ridership on Route 62; high ridership on SMART
Recommendation:
§ Discontinue Route 62
§ Improve Windsor local connection to SMART (Route 60, 67) § Market SMART Connect Airport area Shuttle
Benefits:
§ Re-allocate Route 62 resources to underserved areas
§ Support MASCOTS goal of restructuring service around SMART as the backbone of North Bay Transit service
9 Cotati: Routes 10, 44, 48
§ Route 10:
– Public requests for later service and better connections to SMART – SCT increasing service from 10 to 16 trips and re-designing route to offer bidirectional service to SMART
– For the morning, passengers riding SMART can transfer to Route 10 to get to school, SSU, or other destinations
– After 12:00 PM, the transfer direction is reversed from the bus to the train to allow students and commuters in Rohnert Park and Cotati to use Route 10 to connect with SMART for their trip home § Route 44/48
– Existing service is confusing with inconsistent headways and challenges remaining on time
– Consolidation of these routes into one Route 48 will allow consistent hourly service and improved reliability
10 11
12 Changes That Must Happen Together
13 MUST BE IN PLACE FIRST WHICH ALLOWS SCT TO…
Mendocino Ave
Santa Rosa
CITYBUS Route 1 increases to 15-minute
service
• End regional routes at the Transit Mall
• Consolidate Routes 44 and 48
Cotati / Rohnert
Park
SCT Route 10 redesigned to keep coverage
for existing riders Consolidate Routes 44 and 48
Petaluma
PETALUMA TRANSIT More frequent Route 2
on N. McDowell
PETALUMA TRANSIT New SMART Petaluma
North – SRJC service
• Move Route 48 to Petaluma Blvd. North
(Petaluma Transit local service there ends)
• Discontinue Route 44
One coordinated launch: all partner and SCT changes take effect together on Sunday, February 14, 2027 Public Outreach to Date
14 740
MASCOTS Phase II survey
Fall 2025 · English & Spanish
• Promoted via pop-ups, social media, eblasts, bus stop flyers and open houses • 64% support a faster, streamlined 44/48
even if a transfer is needed
• 84% say moving Route 44 to Petaluma
Blvd works with more PT service on N.
McDowell
~400
Strategic Transit Plan participants
May – July 2026 · English & Spanish
• 245 community surveys + 80 onboard
passenger surveys
• 8 stakeholder interviews
• ~70 attendees at workshops: virtual,
Windsor, Sonoma Valley, Sebastopol
Oct 27
Public hearing notice & review
Per Title VI Public Participation Plan
• Press Democrat legal notice + bilingual
display ad
• Bilingual on-bus ads and Instagram /
Facebook posts
• SCTCA PAC, TTAC and TAC
• Local Jurisdiction meetings and
presentations ongoing
• Spanish interpreters at the hearing on
request
What we heard: riders prioritize frequency and reliability on core routes; 60% prioritize SMART connections Public
Information
15 Public
Information
16 Next Steps and Outreach Plan
18 Oct 27
BOS public hearing
Nov 9
SCTCA Board
Nov 15
Schedules final
Feb 14
Service change effective
1 Announce
Nov – Dec 2026
• Web page, news release,
social launch (week of 11/16)
• Partner toolkit to cities, CBOs,
CityBus & Petaluma Transit
• SMART / STS: promote
SMART Connect for Route 62
• Car cards and “What’s
Changing” brochure
• Strategic Plan public
workshop on December 10
2 Educate
January 2027
• Pop-ups round 1; SRJC & SSU
tabling
• Trip planners updated (GTFS)
by ~1/24
• Printed schedules distributed
from 1/25
• Operator & customer service
briefings
3 Countdown
Feb 1 – 13, 2027
• Bilingual notices on board
and at affected stops (from
1/31)
• Pop-ups round 2; paid
bilingual ad
• Email, text & social reminders
• New stop signage 2/12–14
4 Launch & Support
Feb 14 – Mar 2027
• New service Sun 2/14;
holiday service 2/15
• Ambassadors at key stops
2/16–2/20
• Track rider issues and fix
quickly
• Outreach summary by 3/31
Informational campaign: English & Spanish materials; focus on riders losing or changing service (20X, 62, 42, 44/48) Questions?
19 Emily Betts
Transit Manager
[email protected]
www.sctransit.com