If you skip driving alone and walk, bike, carpool, take transit, or vanpool to work from Contra Costa, posting a photo of your green trip gives you the chance to win a $20 BART ticket.
Just post with the hashtag #511CCgreencommute and you’re entered to win.
For only $35*, youth 6-18 can take unlimited bus rides from June 1 through Aug. 31, 2019 – one of the best summertime bargains for getting around Contra Costa County!
New for 2019: The Summer Youth Pass is now valid for unlimited rides on local and express routes operated by County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, and WestCAT‡.
BART service to Antioch began in May 2018 with the official opening of two new stations: Antioch & Pittsburg Center.
No Park & Ride at the New Stations: Park & Ride parking is not available for bus patrons, carpools, ride sharing, etc. at the Antioch and Pittsburg Center stations. The Brentwood Park & Ride lot serviced by Tri Delta Transit offers free Park & Ride parking.
Transferring at Pittsburg/Bay Point Station: The East Contra Costa BART Extension trains run on their own tracks and connect with the existing BART system at a Transfer Platform just east of the Pittsburg Bay Point Station. At the Transfer Platform, riders simply exit one train and walk across the platform to board the other train. BART passengers trying to reach the Pittsburg Center Station or the Antioch Station will remain in the BART train to reach the Transfer Platform.
Train Technology: The new trains are Diesel Multiple Units or DMU train cars. They meet the US Government’s strictest emissions standards and use renewable diesel, an advanced biofuel produced from bio-based sources such as vegetable oil. The extension will be able to carry an estimated 2,400 people in each direction, per hour, during rush hours.
2018 is here, and with it some new laws for transit and vanpool commuter benefits, walking and driving.
Pre-Tax Commuter Benefit: If your employer offers a program where you can pay for transit or vanpool commuting expenses with pre-tax dollars, the monthly cap for that benefit has risen to $260 for 2018. The pre-tax cap for biking expenses remains at $20.
Pedestrian Crossing Signals (AB 390): For crosswalk signals which include a countdown timer, it is now legal for a pedestrian to enter the crosswalk after the countdown has started, as long as they can make it across by the time the counter reaches zero. It is still illegal to begin crossing at a traditional pedestrian signal (i.e. no countdown timer) after it has begun flashing.
Seat Belts on Buses (SB 20): Effective July 1, 2018 – In buses which are equipped with seatbelts, the law requires both the passengers and the driver to wear them. The driver is also responsible for informing passengers of this requirement.
Driving Passengers for Hire (AB 2687, 2016): Effective July 1, 2018 – Now lowered to match the current limit for bus and truck drivers, the blood-alcohol limit for individuals driving for Uber, Lyft and similar services has been lowered to 0.04 percent when carrying passengers.
New Fuel Taxes and Vehicle Fees(SB 1): A new ‘transportation improvement fee’ will be added to all vehicle registration fees – ranging from $25 to $175 based on the value of a car or truck.
No Parking Citations at Broken Meters (AB 1625): You cannot be restricted from or ticketed for parking at a broken meter. However, you must still observe the posted time limit for parking.
Alcohol and Marijuana in Vehicles (SB 65, 94): Smoking or ingesting cannabis while driving or riding in a vehicle is prohibited. The law also prohibits the possession of an open container of cannabis or cannabis product when operating a motor vehicle.
To see the full text of any California law above, visit the California Legislative Information website.
BART will be closing the Pittsburg Park & Ride starting Monday, May 15 for construction of the Pittsburg BART station. Duration of the closure is unknown.
During the closure, Tri Delta Transit buses will not stop at this location. Buses cannot stop on Bliss Avenue.
For details including alternate bus stops near the Park & Ride, click here.
Do you use the North Concord/Martinez or Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station? Live or work in East County? BART wants your input!
With plans to expand East Contra Costa service in 2018, BART is conducting a study to identify projects to improve access to stations for pedestrians, bikes, vehicles and transit. They’ve drafted a preliminary document identifying barriers and proposing improvements, and now they want to hear from you!
For more information or to submit feedback, visit the North Concord to Antioch BART Study webpage.
With 2017 just around the corner, we rounded up new laws impacting vehicle & traffic safety we thought you should know about. All of these laws take effect on January 1, 2017.
Cell Phone (Electronic Wireless Device) Usage: It will be illegal to hold a cell phone (or other wireless electronic device) while operating a motor vehicle. Phones and devices will need to be mounted on the dashboard or windshield, and may only be operated by hand when activating or deactivating a feature or function can be done with “a single swipe or tap of the driver’s finger” (View full text of AB 1785)
School Bus Safety: All school buses, school pupil activity buses, youth buses & child care motor vehicles used to transport school-age children will be required to have a “child safety alert system”. Since this device requires the driver to contact or scan it before leaving the vehicle, it prompts them to verify that all children have disembarked. Schools will also be required to have procedures in place to, “ensure that a pupil is not left unattended on a school bus.” (View full text of SB 1072)
Child Safety Seats: Children under 2 years of age must ride rear-facing in a child safety seat, unless they are more than 40 pounds or taller than 40 inches. (View full text of AB 53)
On New Year’s Day, all transit agencies serving Contra Costa County will be on Sunday or Holiday schedules, except for County Connection which will have no service. On New Year’s Eve, BART will run until 3am.
Special Note Regarding BART: San Francisco-bound Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond trains will not stop at Embarcadero Station after 8pm on New Year’s Eve.
After the San Francisco fireworks show is over, passengers bound for Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond must use Montgomery Street Station. Trains on these lines will not stop at Embarcadero Station on their way out of San Francisco.
Free Transit: AC Transit & Muni will be offering free travel from 8pm New Year’s Eve until 5am the following morning. During the complimentary service, there is no need to tag your Clipper card.
Click any link below for additional schedule information.
December 30 (Friday)
New Year’s Eve (December 31)
New Year’s Day (January 1)
January 2 – Monday (New Year’s Day Observed)
On Christmas Day, all transit agencies serving Contra Costa County will be on Sunday or Holiday schedules. Modified service will be offered by some local transit agencies on the days before and after Christmas.
Click any link below for additional schedule information.
December 23
Christmas Eve (December 24)
Christmas Day (December 25)
Day After Christmas (December 26)
You’ve probably noticed that traffic congestion in the Bay Area is as bad as it’s ever been, starting at 5 o’clock each morning. Congestion isn’t expected to get better anytime soon and is increasing faster than population and employment. So if you’ve been considering making the switch from commuting alone by car, now is the perfect time!
Here are 6 great reasons to make this the month you change up your commute:
#1: ‘Drive Less’ Commuter Incentive: Make the switch from driving alone to carpooling, taking transit, bicycling or walking for your commute even one day a week and 511 Contra Costa will give you a cash reward as part of the Drive Less Commuter Incentive Program. Get all the details here.
#2: Get There Faster: Transit, carpooling and vanpooling speed up your commute by granting you access to HOV lanes, while biking and walking help you bypass the backup of vehicles almost entirely.
#3: Alternative Commuters Are Healthier & Feel Better: Studies Show riding the bus or train to work is associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight. Research also shows commuting on foot or by bike is better for people’s mental health than driving.
#4: Tax Break for Taking Transit: Did you know you can set aside $255 per month in pre-tax dollars to pay for public transportation? You’ll save money by getting transit tickets & passes tax-free. Ask your employer for details on how to take advantage of this program.
#5: Free 20-ride Pass from Tri Delta Transit: The easiest way to find out if commuting by transit is for you is by giving it a try. Right now, Tri Delta Transit will let you do it for free. Let them know you want to commute by bus and they’ll send you a free 20-ride Pass, while supplies last. (Deadline to apply: February 14)
We want you to have the best possible experience while trying transit, so make sure to take advantage of all the resources available on the 511 Contra Costa website, with information on taking public transit, participating in vanpools, locating park-and-ride lots and much more. Happy commuting!
On Presidents Day (Monday, February 15), some transit agencies will run on regular weekday schedules while others will run on holiday schedules. We’ve collected all the schedules for easy reference.
Click any link below for additional schedule information.
511 Contra Costa has teamed up with Tri Delta Transit to offer East County commuters a free 20-Ride pass!
You’re eligible for the pass if you:
If you meet the requirements, requesting a free 20-Ride pass is as simple as filling out this online form. After that, Tri Delta Transit will send you a free 20-Ride pass (while supplies last).*
Time is of the essence! This offer expires February 14. Passes will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply today!
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Monday, January 18), some transit agencies will run on regular weekday schedules while others will run on holiday schedules. We’ve collected the transit schedules for easy reference.
Click any link below for additional schedule information.
On New Year’s Day, all transit agencies serving Contra Costa County will be on Sunday or Holiday schedules. On New Year’s Eve, BART will run until 3am and WestCAT will offer a Modified Holiday Service schedule.
Special Note Regarding BART: San Francisco-bound Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond trains will not stop at Embarcadero Station after 8pm on New Year’s Eve. After the San Francisco fireworks show is over, passengers bound for Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond must use Montgomery Street Station. Trains on these lines will not stop at Embarcadero Station on their way out of San Francisco.
Free Transit: AC Transit & Muni will be offering free travel from 8pm New Year’s Eve until 5am the following morning. During the complimentary service, there is no need to tag your Clipper card.
Click any link below for additional schedule information.
New Year’s Eve (December 31)
New Year’s Day (January 1)
Do you commute to work by riding SolTrans Route 78, 80 or 80s? If so, you might qualify for their current ‘Buy One Get One’ offer.
Through June 30, 2016, qualified individuals can get two 31-Day Passes for the price of one! Eligibility requirements include living or working in Contra Costa, commuting to work by SolTrans and being willing to take a short survey.
To see if you qualify, click the image to the left to read the promotion details. Eligible individuals can apply at SolTransRide.com.
June 18 is National Dump the Pump Day! It’s a great opportunity to change up your routine, ride public transportation (instead of driving) and save some money. A recent report from the American Public Transportation Association shows that a two-person household downsizing to one car can save, on average, more than $9,569 a year!
Saving money isn’t the only reason to try riding transit on Dump the Pump Day. This year Spare the Air, WestCAT, BART, Wheels (LAVTA) & SolTrans are all offering something extra to encourage you to ri5de the bus or train. We’ve compiled their tweets (showing what they’ve got going on for June 18) below.
And if Dump the Pump Day inspires you to take transit more often, you might qualify for the $25 Drive Less Commuter Incentive! Find out more on our Public Transit page.
Take the #dumpthepump pledge, sign up for #SpareTheAir Alerts, and enter to receive a bag and $25 Clipper Card http://t.co/pEz875fmXt — Spare The Air (@SpareTheAir) June 16, 2015
Enter to win a $20 Local Stored Value Bus Pass or a $50 Lynx Stored Ride Pass for National Dump the Pump Day see https://t.co/94EHf2owVd
— WestCAT Transit (@WCCTA) June 15, 2015
See Wheels historic Rideo bus at the Alameda County Fair. Take Route 8 and get a Buy One Get One Free voucher! #DumpThePump pic.twitter.com/zcfxGzRMBV — Wheels Bus (@wheelsbus) June 17, 2015
Dump the Pump and Ride Free — When? Thursday, June 18, –What? Free rides on all SolTrans Local Fixed… http://t.co/mFkmBSgvoR
— SolTrans (@SolTransRide) June 12, 2015
The Summer Youth Pass is back for 2015! Youths 17 and under can get 3 months of unlimited rides on Tri Delta Transit and WestCAT fixed-route buses for just $50.
WestCAT, Tri Delta Transit and 511 Contra Costa have teamed up to offer this year’s Summer Youth Pass. Passes are available to anyone 17 years of age and under for just $50 each.
The pass is in the form of a waterproof wristband and is good for 3 months of unlimited rides (June 1 through August 31) on all Tri Delta Transit fixed-route buses and all WestCAT fixed-route and express buses (including the 30Z Martinez Link)*.
Passes are currently on sale and can be purchased any one of three ways:
In Person: Pick up a Summer Youth Pass at the Tri Delta Transit administrative office (801 Wilbur Ave, Antioch) or at WestCAT (601 Walter Ave, Pinole) during business hours
Online: Click here to order the Summer Youth Pass via the Tri Delta Transit website
Mail/Fax/Phone: You can fax or mail in a completed order form to Tri Delta Transit (download here), or place your order by phone (credit card orders only) by calling 925-754-6622
For more information about the promotion or either transit agency, please visit WestCAT.org or TriDeltaTransit.com, or call WestCAT at (510) 724-3331 or Tri Delta Transit at (925) 754-4040.
If you ride WestCAT’s LYNX route, get ready to start seeing double!
AC Transit handed off a shiny, new 80-seat double-decker bus (on loan from manufacturer Alexander Dennis) to WestCAT earlier this week, and it went into active use today!
The double-decker bus will be part of the LYNX fleet for a demonstration period through March 26-April 13. In order to give everyone an opportunity to experience the new vehicle, the bus will be scheduled for use on various LYNX runs. WestCAT will use Twitter (@wccta), Facebook (facebook.com/wccta), and their website to advise customers on which runs the bus will be traveling on a particular day.
WestCAT is testing the bus to see if double-deckers would be a useful addition to the LYNX fleet. Those who ride the double-decker bus will be asked for feedback, which will be used to help the agency determine whether to consider acquiring similar buses. If the WestCAT Board of Directors decides to purchase double-decker buses, customers could see them in service as early as 2017.
For more information about the double-decker bus demonstration, visit westcat.org or call (510) 724-3331.
Wheels (LAVTA) – The Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority is making minor changes to several of its regular and school-focused bus routes effective Saturday, February 21:
Click here to see the full press release.
Tri Delta Transit – Tri Delta Transit will have a new schedule taking effect on Sunday, March 8. The new schedule will include:
(Photo credit: AC Transit)
While it’s true all eyes are set on modernizing our transit system, AC Transit uploaded some fantastic pictures of buses and billboard ads from the 1960’s and 70’s. We salute AC Transit’s fleet and campaigns from half a century ago! (All photos courtesy of AC Transit)
Can’t get enough of old-school AC Transit? The agency has dozens of more old photos in its “From the Archives March 2014” flickr set. And if you’re on Facebook, check out the Vintage AC Transit page and give it a “like” for more pictures and history.
Commuters catching Tri Delta Transit buses at the current Hillcrest Park & Ride on a typical weekday afternoon
Big changes are coming up for the Hillcrest Park & Ride lot located in Antioch at the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and Sunset Drive. Starting Sunday, February 16, 2014, commuters will be parking a bit further up on Sunset Drive on Lot A of the upcoming eBART station.
The new parking lot will feature an additional 94 spaces for commuters. The bus loading area will also be relocated to an area adjacent to the future eBART station. Tri Delta Transit and other transit operators are recommending that you allow additional time to catch your bus. In anticipation of some confusion to the new changes, signs and ambassadors will be on site Tuesday, February 18th to help commuters.
511 Contra Costa is excited to see that the new Hillcrest Park & Ride lot is almost ready to open to the public. It looks like finishing touches are being put into place when staff stopped by for a preview.
By the end of 2017, all 1,000 spaces of BART’s Antioch (eBART) Station parking lot will be available for use for drivers who use Tri Delta Transit, eBART and other local public transit systems. And what will happen to the current parking lot? The old Hillcrest Park and Ride will be demolished to clear space for freeway onramps and offramps.
Information Source: Contra Costa Times, East County Today, Tri Delta Transit
A bicyclist peacefully overtakes a bus loading and unloading passengers. Photo credit: Canadian Veggie
If you commute by bike or bus, the conflict is familiar: a bus will overtake a person bicycling then arrive at a stop to pick up passengers, and while the bus is momentarily stopped the person bicycling will catch up and overtake the bus.
This effectively creates an unwanted game of “leap frog” in which bicycles and buses are constantly overtaking one another, sometimes causing near collisions since it can be difficult to see a bicycle approaching on the left as the bus driver attempts to re-enter the flow of traffic. As if contending with traffic weren’t stressful enough, this repeated negotiation can be exhausting and tense for both parties.
Thankfully, there is a solution– routing bicycles to the left of bus stops in a separated lane, known as “bike channel” or “bus bypass.” Here in the Bay Area, San Francisco has pioneered this practice on streets with streetcar stops where it seems to be working just as it should, removing the bus-bike conflict seen on heavily traveled routes throughout the region.
So it comes as good news that the practice will soon expand into the East Bay along AC Transit’s 51 route this summer as part of the “Line 51 Corridor Delay Reduction and Sustainability Project.” Not only is this anticipated to remove the common “leap frogging” conflict between buses and bikes, but this is also expected to help speed up bus times too– a win-win!
While the proposed orientation (which will look similar to the configuration in the lead photo) is unfamiliar in the East Bay, it certainly is not new. In The Netherlands, transportation planners have separated buses and bicycles at bus stops since as early as the 1950’s. To learn more about how this clever design improves conditions for everyone watch the video.
Video credit: markenlei
New AC Transit bus, the “Gillig Suburban,” offers riders free wifi. Photo credit: AC Transit
In March AC Transit began phasing in a new line of buses built by Bay Area based company Gillig to replace some of the fleet’s older models. In August, AC Transit introduced the New Flyer 60’ articulated buses, which feature 52 seats (and additional room for standing) to handle demand along its most heavily traveled routes (click here to check out the specs of the bus).
Now, as of November 8th, AC Transit has unveiled yet another type of bus to improve service quality for riders, one geared to to accommodate long distance commuters, called the “Gillig Suburban.” These buses have the following features:
With seats like that, riding the Gillig Suburban bus could make for a very relaxing commute. Photo credit: AC Transit
All three new models of buses are part of AC Transit’s “A Better Ride” effort to make bus travel more pleasant and efficient. If you have ridden any of the new types of buses, AC Transit encourages you to provide feedback by sending an email to abetterride@actransit.org.
To keep up with the latest news from AC Transit, check out the agency on facebook, twitter, youtube, or sign up to receive their e-newsletters
A look at the interior of AC Transit’s new Gillg buses. Click the image for additional photos of the new buses Photo credit: AC Transit
Some good news for AC Transit riders– the transit agency recently acquired 65 new buses from Hayward based Gillig! The buses started being phased in March and will be replacing some of the agency’s older buses.
What makes these buses so great? Well, a number of things, including:
See the below video for other improvements are on the way for AC Transit and to see some views of what these new buses look like
Video credit: AC Transit
