| Founded | April 1, 1973 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1225 R Street |
| Locale | Sacramento, California |
| Service area | Sacramento and Sacramento County |
| Service type | Bus and light rail |
| Routes | 65 (bus) 2 (light rail) |
| Stops | 3,588[1] |
| Hubs | 26 transit centers 18 park and ride lots[1] |
| Stations | 47 (light rail)[1] |
| Fleet | 233 buses 76 active LRVs 21 inactive LRVs |
| Daily ridership | 33 million (annually)[1] |
| Fuel type | CNG, Diesel-electric hybrid |
| Operator | RT |
| Web site | http://www.sacrt.com |
The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority. Along with about 60 bus routes, RT operates a large light rail system and connecting bus service in the Sacramento area, covering 418 sq mi (1,082.6 km2). It is currently the ninth busiest light rail system in the United States.
In addition to the city of Sacramento, RT serves much of the northern portion of Sacramento County which includes the incorporated cities of Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova. The unincorporated areas of Sacramento County under the RT service area include Arden Arcade, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Florin, Gold River, North Highlands, Orangevale, Rio Linda and Rosemont.[2] The system formerly provided express bus service between Downtown Sacramento and Elk Grove until the mid-2000's when that city took over bus operations under the newly created E-tran.
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RT began operations on April 1, 1973, with the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority. Later that year RT completed a new maintenance facility and purchased 103 buses.
Over the next decade RT continued to expand bus service to the growing Sacramento Region while a cooperative effort emerged among city, county and state government officials to develop a light rail system. In 1987 the 18.3-mile (29.5 km) light rail “starter line” opened, linking the northeastern (Interstate 80) and eastern (Highway 50) corridors with Downtown Sacramento. As light rail ridership increased, RT continued to expand the light rail system. RT completed its first light rail expansion along the Highway 50 corridor in September 1998 with the opening of the Mather Field/Mills Station. Five years later (September 2003) RT opened the first phase of the South Line, a 6.3-mile (10.1 km) extension to South Sacramento. In June 2004, light rail was extended from the Mather Field/Mills station to Sunrise Boulevard, and on October 15, 2005 a 7.4-mile (11.9 km) extension from the Sunrise station to the city of Folsom was opened.
In December 2006, the final leg of the Amtrak/Folsom project was extended .7-mile (11 km) to the downtown Sacramento Valley Station, connecting light rail with Amtrak inter-city and Capitol Corridor services as well as local and commuter buses. Within the next several years, RT plans to extend light rail beyond Meadowview in South Sacramento to Cosumnes River College and north to Sacramento International Airport. RT currently operates 97 bus routes in a 418-square-mile (1,080 km2) service area.
RT is governed by an eleven-member Board of Directors composed of members of the Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom City Councils as well as members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. The fiscal year 2006 operating budget is $148.54 million, with a capital budget of $15.4 million.
RT employs a work force of approximately 1,163 people, 80 percent of whom are dedicated to operations and maintenance of the bus and light rail systems. RT operates three maintenance and operations facilities – one for buses at 29th and N Streets, one for the Community Bus Service at McClellan Park, and one for the light rail system at 2700 Academy Way in North Sacramento.
| Group | Fare Type | Single | Daily Pass | Monthly Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-61 | Basic | $2.50 | $6.00 | $100.00 |
| Student (5-18) | Discount | $1.25 | $3.00 | $50.00 |
| Disabled | Discount | $1.25 | $3.00 | $50.00 |
| Senior 62+ | Discount | $1.25 | $3.00 | $50.00 |
| Super Senior 75+ | Discount | Senior Fare | Senior Fare | $40.00 |
PrePaid tickets are sold in books of ten.
| Group | Fare Type | Single | Daily Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19-61 | Basic | $25.00 | $60.00 |
| Senior 62+ | Discount | $12.50 | $30.00 |
| Disabled | Discount | $12.50 | $30.00 |
| Student (5-18) | Discount | $12.50 | $30.00 |
Regional Transit also offers the Class Pass for use during 9am-3:30pm. For any group of ten or more students that are pursuing a high school diploma the cost is $2.50 per student and $5.00 for each adult.
Since 2004, with the exception of some neighborhood shuttle vans (see #The Neighborhood Ride below), the bus fleet is consisted exclusively of Orion 07.501 (VII) and Orion VII Next Generation buses powered by compressed natural gas. The RT system operates 65 bus routes, as of 2010, with service between 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. daily. Frequencies range between every 15 and 80 minutes (some express buses run only a few times a day). Since light rail has opened, buses have generally acted as feeders to light rail routes.
The RT system does not provide service to Sacramento International Airport. Service between downtown Sacramento and the airport is instead provided on an hourly basis by the Yolobus system.[3]
The numbers provided are average weekday boardings.
| Transit Center | Location | Bike lockers | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| American River College | Location | No | 1, 82 |
| Arden Fair Mall | Location | No | 22, 23, 29, 67, 68 |
| Cosumnes River College | Location | No | 54, 55, 56 |
| CSUS | Location | No | 30, 31, 34, 82, 87 |
| Florin Mall | Location | No | 47, 51, 55, 67, 68, 81 |
| Sunrise Mall | Location | No | 1, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28 |
| Louis and Orlando | Location | No | Sacramento Regional Transit 21, 93, and 103 Roseville Transit A, B, R, and Commuter Placer County Transit to Auburn, CA |
| Sacramento RT Light Rail | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Info | |||
| Locale | Sacramento, CA | ||
| Transit type | Light rail | ||
| Daily ridership | 50,000 daily[5] | ||
| Website | http://www.sacrt.com/ | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | March 12, 1987 | ||
| Operator(s) | Sacramento Regional Transit District | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) | ||
| Electrification | Overhead lines, 750 V DC | ||
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RT operates a 37.42-mile (60.22 km) light rail system, consisting of two rail ines, 45 stations, and 76 vehicles. The LRV fleet consist of Siemens-Duewag U2A vehicles, which have been in use since the light rail's inception and more modern CAF trains delivered in 2003.[6]
Before the June 2010 budget cuts, RT light rail formerly operated from 4:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily with 15 minute headways during the day. (Only the RT bus service division has never operated beyond midnight, even the busiest routes.) After the budget cuts took place, it was curtailed to operate from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with service every 15 minutes in the day Monday through Friday and every 30 minutes on weekends and every night. The light rail system, with 44,400 daily boardings, is the tenth busiest in the United States.
The creation and maintenance of the light-rail system is pushed by the advocacy group Friends of Light Rail and Transit.
Numbers provided are average weekday "on & offs"
Future plans include the planned Green Line from the Sacramento Valley Station to the Sacramento International Airport via the neighborhood of Natomas.[10] A planned extension to Roseville, once a top priority, has been on the back burner for years. Extensions to Davis, Elk Grove, Woodland and other locations are shown on the 20-year plan. In December 2007, Regional Transit committed to completing the extension from the Sacramento Valley Station to Richards Blvd by 2010 which would take it through the planned Railyards project and extend it to the also planned Township 9 development.
Construction on the Phase 2 plan for the South line extension is currently planned to begin in Spring 2011.[11] It will go as far south as Cosumes River College. Originally a planned extension all the way to the city of Elk Grove, the line will end at the college due to four changes to address feedback from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on land use and station accessibility. These changes include a new station at Morrison Creek (half-way between Meadowview and Franklin), improved pedestrian access to Franklin and Center Parkway stations, the elimination of certain design options, and a 2000 car parking structure to replace previously planned surface parking at Cosumnes River College. California's current financial crisis also contributed to the decision to terminate the line at the college. The line might be extended further as part of a possible Phase 3.[12]
To meet the requirements of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, the RT established a Paratransit service in 1993, which is a door-to-door service for the disabled.
In 2006, RT created a new division internally known as "Community Bus Service". Known to the ridership as "The Neighborhood Ride"
On April 9, 2010 at about 10:20 a.m. a Blue Line train struck a vehicle at the 47th Ave. crossing. The vehicle, a green Honda Accord was dragged about 100 feet (30 m). Inside the vehicle was a woman about the age of 40, She was pronounced dead at U.C. Davis Medical Center. The cause was revealed to be the woman who drove her car around the crossing gates which were down.
A man was hospitalized April 26, 2010 after he was hit by a light rail while talking on a cell phone.The crash happened near the Iron Point Station in Folsom at about 10 a.m. Investigators said the pedestrian was walking on the tracks and not paying attention to what was coming toward him. The pedestrian on the tracks never looked up at all throughout the entire incident. The operator told investigators that he had spoken to the injured person, and the guy said that he was walking on the tracks because he didn't want to be walking on the roadway while talking on his cell phone. The pedestrian was in serious condition at UC Davis Medical Center. Passengers on the train had an hour delay.
Deputies were called shortly after 9 a.m. on April 27, 2010 to the Zinfandel station. Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran said one person shot the victim in the leg and then fled.Investigators said a fight broke out on a light rail train, culminating in a shooting once the train reached the station platform. The alleged shooter was seen running across the parking lot outside a nearby Ross store, Curran said. The victim was expected to survive, authorities said. RT service did not appear to be affected.
On November 11, 2010 a pick up truck ran into the side of a moving Regional Transit Light Rail Train at 10:15 a.m. at Starfire Drive and Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento County. The train was only scratched in the collision. Only one passenger received medical attention for minor injuries; the two people in the truck were not hurt.
A Siemens light rail vehicle on a Gold Line train caught fire and started to smoke on December 23, 2010 at approximately 7:30 a.m. near the College Greens station. A communications issue between the Sacramento Fire Department and the Regional Transit light rail operator occurred when the train began to move from the station where the fire was being doused to the Watt/Manlove station over a mile away. The fire caused service disruptions to Gold Line trains traveling in both directions for up to an hour. The car (#136) was towed out of service to the Regional Transit maintenance facility on Academy Way. The fire was likely caused by an overheated generator and battery located on the bottom of the train.
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