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Starting June 18, SamTrans is launching its new microtransit service in Menlo Park's Belle Haven neighborhood and East Palo Alto, and the Coastside communities of Half Moon Bay and El Granada.
Users will be able to book a ride to their destination through the Ride Plus app or or a quick phone call, as long as the journey is within Ride Plus Zones. The service is being offered for free until July 31. Starting Aug. 1, Ride Plus will charge the same fixed fee as the local bus service, and can be paid for with the Clipper app or bus passes. Bus fares are $2.25 for adults without a Clipper account and as low as $1 for youth, seniors and others eligible for discounted fares who pay via Clipper.
Ride Plus is included in the new SamTrans two-year budget, which will also include electric buses and improvements to the existing bus service.
On June 16, SamTrans invited news organizations and city officials to ride the new vehicle. The towering minivan had a sleek design that sported SamTrans' iconic red and blue. Inside could accommodate about 10 people, was air-conditioned, and had a wheelchair lift.
Both the history of the communities of Belle Haven and East Palo Alto’s being underserved and difficulty implementing fixed-route transit were reasons why SamTrans decided to try the microtransit model, according to Mahmoud Abunie, SamTrans’s public affairs specialist.
Menlo Park Mayor Jen Wolosin welcomed the new service, and said Ride Plus can meet the needs of Belle Haven residents who are transit-dependent.
“I think it's really helping to treat all of our residents with dignity and access to services and places that they need to go.” she said.
Wolosin said she is interested in expanding the program to go beyond the current Ride Plus Zone to connect Belle Haven to the rest of Menlo Park.
East Palo Alto Mayor Lisa Gauthier said Ride Plus can make a positive impact for residents in the changing economy.
“Innovation economy is so on-demand, so to be able to have SamTrans come in and actually provide a service where residents can call and be picked up is a huge difference,” Gauthier said.
“This is the transportation of the future.”
