FREMONT — Driving to the bus is about to get a lot easier for Tri-City area commuters who cross the Dumbarton Bridge on their way to work.

The expanded Ardenwood Park & Ride lot is scheduled to open June 1, providing an additional 235 parking spaces and new amenities at 34805 Ardenwood Blvd., just north of Route 84, across from Ardenwood Regional Park.
While the original transit facility had just 116 spaces and often filled before 7 a.m., the expanded one will have 351 spaces — more than enough for commuters, said John Twichell, AC Transit’s transportation planning manager.
The new lot also will have real-time bus arrival information, bike lockers, security cameras, lighting and a bus platform for safe boarding and departures.
Presently, park & ride users enter and leave the buses at stops located on the freeway on- and off-ramps.
The new lot cost $8.3 million, including about $3.5 million to buy the land that had previously been home to a mini-golf and batting cages facility.
The lot will be served by the M, U and Dumbarton Express bus lines.
Not everything will be ready June 1.
An electronic sign planned for Route 84 showing the number of available parking spaces and estimated bus arrival times likely won’t be in place until autumn, Twichell said.
Also, AC Transit will renovate the original 116-space lot in June, and reopen it July 1.
Given the poor economy, Twichell doesn’t expect the lot to fill up immediately, but said it eventually should reach capacity.