I’m glad that our local transit agencies are starting to realize that transit can (and should) be for more than just moving people to and from the office. Particularly as we move away from the 5-days-in-office model to a mix of in-office, hybrid, and remote working, and as we strive to meet ambitious climate goals, we need to make sure our transit systems can serve other trips needs, like school, errands, weekend leisure, and evening entertainment.
Part of the current smart right of way can be used to build BART and in the meantime smart can attract more ridership. Imagine an Extension from Richmond to San Rafael. That alone would be a game changer! And the north bay could still have transit in the meantime BART extensions are being built.
@@chuckxu5910 We are! they're 80% done with the line construction in the Central Valley and they're ordering the HSR trains by the end of the year. And the Caltrain section is already electrified and in operation!
One can only imagine if trains were still the dominant transportation in America. Our cities would've been a lot better you even see glimpses of it with old east coast cities. Such a shame they sold their souls for the automobile.
Wow, now y’all want to use mass transit! Back in the 50/60s Fomoco influenced the government to use their petroleum and have the masses buy cars for each person for major transportation in los Angeles. The electric car was killed because of efficiency too back then and 15yrs ago. They’ve now restructured the transportation system after they repurposed their portfolios and jumped on the bandwagon after years of downplaying mass transit.
Same thing here in Sacramento: light rail’s a bust, with very low ridership except the homeless looking for a place to nap or shoot up, stopping vehicle traffic at the innumerable grade crossings and thereby increasing pollution from idling cars and trucks - but it’s never challenged because “transit” is the mantra of a secular religion that’s divorced from reality. And that religion’s priests are in power, and they tolerate no contradiction to their dogma.
@@doverbeachcomber what are you smoking, SACRT is popular. They have good ridership. Transit is a secular religion? It's a city-planning framework that acknowledges that cars and parking aren't sufficient.
SMART is offering free fare for youth (ages 0-18) and seniors (ages 65+). This new fare structure is a pilot program effective from April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, which aims to increase use of public transit for these age groups, fostering environmental sustainability and enhancing mobility in the region. Way to go SMART!
Before you boast too much about this project’s “environmental sustainability” remember there’s going to be a gigantic carbon footprint from all the construction, including ripping up and replacing all those miles of existing track. You’ll have to pay for that footprint with a colossal number of avoided car trips before you can even begin to count any environmental benefit.
My friends and I use it to go from Petaluma to the Giants games in SF we take it down to the ferry in larkspur landing and boat over to the stadium, that way we always have a DD and you don’t have to find parking!
It doesn't matter where it the country this kind of thing happens, any time I find it, I'm thrilled and it's a fantastic thing! We need more transit like this everywhere!
They should also electrify the line too along with new electric trains too like how caltrain did.. although that would be a very expensive project, i think it would truly make it an "eco friendly" form of transportation, given how the current trains are diesels
There are higher priorities for Electrification the Line from San Jose to Sacramento is the Busiest on the West Coast and was proposed to be Electrified in 1912 by Edward H Harriman the owner of the Southern Pacific Railroad
@@jasonn4597 Catenary poles and wires always look crappy, but ultimately when it isn't LRT, it is about the only real negative, whereas it hosts a load of positives.
Unfortunately that seems to be considered too unfeesable. The idea of a Novato to Susuin Fairfield connection faces the issue that each of those cities are not very big. So a service would need to rely entirely on connecting passengers. And those are not many. It would be far better to wait until they rebuild the Richmond bridge and send Smart to the Richmond TC.
We just need a good connection from Sonoma/Marin/Napa Counties to the East Bay. The only current option is to take the bus from San Rafael (which SMART goes to) then take either the Golden Gate or Solono County bus to Richmond and then take the Bart. I mean not too bad, but connections aren't great compared to some place like LA where you would still need to take 3 or 4 transit lines, but the difference there is the connection times are better.
Finally the state is starting to get wise instead of wasting it all in useless highway expansions! Also, as a regular commuter, the people complaining about the "homeless problem" need to sit their demented a*ses down and relax, they've spent too much time huffing their car's smog.
Thank you for this fine example of the contempt and rudeness displayed by average Progressive zealots when anyone dares to question the acts of Their Enlightened Highnesses.
NOT only was there a time when people used to ride trains but during that time trains were the primary form of public transportation. In fact, there was a streetcar, not a train, but a street car which ran from San Francisco all the way to Chico. Thats right, 180 miles each way. But big $$ put a stop to that. !
Or maybe people liked being in control of the timing and pace of their travel, instead of being at the mercy of train schedules, breakdowns, strikes, etc., so they chose cars as soon as they became cheap and widely available.
The travesty is that Larkspur prevented SMART from building the station AT the ferry terminal... Walking from SMART to the Ferry is indirect and takes much too long.
WHEN the Golden Gate Bridge needs to be replaced, it better have rails on the new bridge and a tunnel straight to the Saleforce Transit Center. No other stops in SF. SMART wouldn’t be able to handle the ridership 😂
Why not more trains AND more roads, to better serve ALL Californians? Why are transit zealots always trying to tell others what they can’t have, while measuring their own pet projects only by good intentions, not by results?
@ there are ~390,000 miles of roads in California, and Amtrak alone owns 0 miles in California. So no do not build more roads and instead build more tracks as trains are better for the environment.
Unfortunately not. Those tracks have been out of commission for years, and some ripped out. The best we can hope for is some connection with BART in the future. Nothing against the ferry, it's just not my preferred method of transit.
@@atthemoment14 i imagine it'll probably happen after they build the Caltrain/Amtrak Transbay Crossing which will probably happen in maybe 15 to 20 years assuming the Funding Comes in about 2030 which it likely will given shifting political winds, honestly at this point it's kind of just a waiting game
You're on the wrong side of things. With that $81 million dollars, you should shorten the walk in Larkspur from the Ferry to the actual train stop in Larkspur. It involves a half mile walk up and over a huge bridge. Fix the distance from the Larkspur Ferry to the Larkspur Train Stop. Thank you.
Cutesy but not demure. Respectfully, the vision is short cited. Connect job hub to job hub so that the train service isn't a leisure component but an economic local powerhouse.
Connect the Smart Train to BART... this train is fing pointless without connecting to already built infrastructure. Who ever is doing this fire them... so windsor to Healdsburg is what less than 10miles... and it costs $81million. Of our tax money and then charge to ride it not cheap. Atleast give me a glass whine while u.... f me. 🤯
A SMART/BART connection would be amazing. I can't believe the higher ups said no to extending BART to the North Bay. The ferry is great and all, but not my preferred method of transit. We need a good connection from Sonoma/Marin/Napa Counties to the East Bay. The only current option is to take the bus from San Rafael then take either the Golden Gate or Solono County bus to Richmond and then take BART. I mean not too bad, but connections aren't great compared to some place like LA where you would still need to take 3 or 4 transit lines, but the difference there is the connection times are better.
It is CLEAR that you do not care how you spend other peoples money. NOBODY is on yer train! I would love to her the REAL MATH! My guess is yer at about a 1000 bucks per passenger so far. WASTEFUL
Likewise, how do I benefit from paying taxes into your LA metro or funding the maintenance of your 405? Maybe consider the importance of interconnected systems and indirect benefits. Sincerely SFBA
its pretty nice to ride. its mostly ridden by commuters. Homeless people and addicts don't really have much of a reason to be going in between Marin and Sonoma. Plus there is a conductor that makes sure everyone gets off at the end of the line.
Not very Smart. You have a lot of homeless Elderly people and Special Needs People . Don’t you think you could have made a better decision on how to spend the money?
Transit is never a Waste of Money also California is the most Densely populated state in the Country there less populated places getting entire Subway systems
I thought they were talking about Fairfield and Vallejo Vacaville etc… they need a train and a connect to Bart somehow those little towns don’t need that
Very true. I was just in the East Bay last week and it was a hassle to get home. We need a good connection from Sonoma/Marin/Napa/Solono Counties to the East Bay. The only current option is to take the bus from San Rafael (which SMART goes to) then take either the Golden Gate or Solono County bus to Richmond and then take the Bart. I mean not too bad, but connections aren't great compared to some place like LA where you would still need to take 3 or 4 transit lines, but the difference there is the connection times are better.
I’m glad that our local transit agencies are starting to realize that transit can (and should) be for more than just moving people to and from the office. Particularly as we move away from the 5-days-in-office model to a mix of in-office, hybrid, and remote working, and as we strive to meet ambitious climate goals, we need to make sure our transit systems can serve other trips needs, like school, errands, weekend leisure, and evening entertainment.
Bart needs a north bay extention. Way too many cars coming into SF
Rich whites dont want the poor minorities access to them like that
Part of the current smart right of way can be used to build BART and in the meantime smart can attract more ridership. Imagine an Extension from Richmond to San Rafael. That alone would be a game changer! And the north bay could still have transit in the meantime BART extensions are being built.
Or connect SMART to Bart. Bart is way too expensive for the North Bay. Maybe bring Bart and SMART to Vallejo.
smart connects to the ferry for people going to SF from the north bay
Something like that was proposed back in the early days of Bart but the NIMBY’s cried about it.
It’s great! I use the Smart Train for short trips, and it’s quite adorable to get around for less than $10.
More trains! More!
Why y’all won’t build high speed trains 🚂
@@chuckxu5910we tryin man
@@chuckxu5910 We are! they're 80% done with the line construction in the Central Valley and they're ordering the HSR trains by the end of the year. And the Caltrain section is already electrified and in operation!
One can only imagine if trains were still the dominant transportation in America. Our cities would've been a lot better you even see glimpses of it with old east coast cities. Such a shame they sold their souls for the automobile.
Wow, now y’all want to use mass transit! Back in the 50/60s Fomoco influenced the government to use their petroleum and have the masses buy cars for each person for major transportation in los Angeles. The electric car was killed because of efficiency too back then and 15yrs ago. They’ve now restructured the transportation system after they repurposed their portfolios and jumped on the bandwagon after years of downplaying mass transit.
Love that this train is getting attention but even VTA is looking at the
They are building more density around the existing and proposed stations.
Same thing here in Sacramento: light rail’s a bust, with very low ridership except the homeless looking for a place to nap or shoot up, stopping vehicle traffic at the innumerable grade crossings and thereby increasing pollution from idling cars and trucks - but it’s never challenged because “transit” is the mantra of a secular religion that’s divorced from reality. And that religion’s priests are in power, and they tolerate no contradiction to their dogma.
@@doverbeachcomber what are you smoking, SACRT is popular. They have good ridership. Transit is a secular religion? It's a city-planning framework that acknowledges that cars and parking aren't sufficient.
SMART is offering free fare for youth (ages 0-18) and seniors (ages 65+). This new fare structure is a pilot program effective from April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, which aims to increase use of public transit for these age groups, fostering environmental sustainability and enhancing mobility in the region. Way to go SMART!
Before you boast too much about this project’s “environmental sustainability” remember there’s going to be a gigantic carbon footprint from all the construction, including ripping up and replacing all those miles of existing track. You’ll have to pay for that footprint with a colossal number of avoided car trips before you can even begin to count any environmental benefit.
@ this one-time carbon footprint is nowhere near hundreds of cars off the 101 everyday!
My friends and I use it to go from Petaluma to the Giants games in SF we take it down to the ferry in larkspur landing and boat over to the stadium, that way we always have a DD and you don’t have to find parking!
Glad to see the train be extended. This will be a great option for visiting healdsburg when I stay in Santa Rosa or Windsor
It doesn't matter where it the country this kind of thing happens, any time I find it, I'm thrilled and it's a fantastic thing! We need more transit like this everywhere!
They should also electrify the line too along with new electric trains too like how caltrain did.. although that would be a very expensive project, i think it would truly make it an "eco friendly" form of transportation, given how the current trains are diesels
Aiming to upgrade it to fully electrified, and using something like a Stadler FLIRT or KISS would be intelligent for sure.
There are higher priorities for Electrification the Line from San Jose to Sacramento is the Busiest on the West Coast and was proposed to be Electrified in 1912 by Edward H Harriman the owner of the Southern Pacific Railroad
True but it looks ugly if it’s get electrified
@@jasonn4597 Catenary poles and wires always look crappy, but ultimately when it isn't LRT, it is about the only real negative, whereas it hosts a load of positives.
BART needs to extend to Vallejo !!!
What about connecting to Capitol Corridor in Suisun/Fairfield!
You can get a throughway bus to Martinez. That's what I do when I take Amtrak to LA.
They're considering it!
What about the SMART connection with Amtrak at Novato?
My brother and I are stoked about that!
A SMART/Amtrak connection? I mean there's a throughway bus from Sonoma County to Martinez. Is that what you're refferring to?
Unfortunately that seems to be considered too unfeesable. The idea of a Novato to Susuin Fairfield connection faces the issue that each of those cities are not very big. So a service would need to rely entirely on connecting passengers. And those are not many. It would be far better to wait until they rebuild the Richmond bridge and send Smart to the Richmond TC.
What great news. As an East Bay resident, I can't wait to use SMART to tour the upper wine valley.
We just need a good connection from Sonoma/Marin/Napa Counties to the East Bay. The only current option is to take the bus from San Rafael (which SMART goes to) then take either the Golden Gate or Solono County bus to Richmond and then take the Bart. I mean not too bad, but connections aren't great compared to some place like LA where you would still need to take 3 or 4 transit lines, but the difference there is the connection times are better.
Love the SMART train! I wish they could do some grade separations, but I get the priority is Cloverdale
Finally the state is starting to get wise instead of wasting it all in useless highway expansions! Also, as a regular commuter, the people complaining about the "homeless problem" need to sit their demented a*ses down and relax, they've spent too much time huffing their car's smog.
Thank you for this fine example of the contempt and rudeness displayed by average Progressive zealots when anyone dares to question the acts of Their Enlightened Highnesses.
What about the homeless?
This was sold as an alternative to the 101 commute and now it’s an 81 million dollar wine train
A Train is NEVER a waste of money
It is a great alternative though
Exciting! I loved camping near Healdsburg as a kid, maybe I'll be able to go back on the train
Let's connect Marin to East Oakland.
And East Palo Alto too
And all the way to Willits to connect with “Skunk” train
YES!!! Truly the best way to travel
NOT only was there a time when people used to ride trains but during that time trains
were the primary form of public transportation. In fact, there was a streetcar, not a train, but a street car which ran from San Francisco all the way to Chico. Thats right, 180 miles each way. But big $$ put a stop to that.
!
Or maybe people liked being in control of the timing and pace of their travel, instead of being at the mercy of train schedules, breakdowns, strikes, etc., so they chose cars as soon as they became cheap and widely available.
@@doverbeachcomber no. Cars were SUBSIDIZED, and trains and streetcars were TAXED.
The travesty is that Larkspur prevented SMART from building the station AT the ferry terminal... Walking from SMART to the Ferry is indirect and takes much too long.
That's by far the biggest issue with the system. Even just a simple pedestrian bridge would make a huge difference.
How about Cloverdale ?
Meanwhile in Nashville we’re just now talking about *maybe* expanding our bus network that is very obviously in need of expansion.
Why not connect to SF? Golden Gate Bridge was built to support a lower span.
How about Cloverdale
Is SMART still planning to extend further north to Willits to connect with Skunk Train?
99% of taxpayers in California just went from where to where? why don't the wineries in those counties pay for the system
It doesn't matter who pays for it, Public Transportation is worth Any cost
WHEN the Golden Gate Bridge needs to be replaced, it better have rails on the new bridge and a tunnel straight to the Saleforce Transit Center. No other stops in SF. SMART wouldn’t be able to handle the ridership 😂
Build more trains 🗣️🗣️🗣️ and less roads
Why not more trains AND more roads, to better serve ALL Californians? Why are transit zealots always trying to tell others what they can’t have, while measuring their own pet projects only by good intentions, not by results?
@ there are ~390,000 miles of roads in California, and Amtrak alone owns 0 miles in California. So no do not build more roads and instead build more tracks as trains are better for the environment.
Bart should be going up there
Santa Rosa needs to connect
Less words, more action. I'll believe it when its completed.
Now bring it to Sausalito, Tiburon, Sonoma City, and bring Bart north
Maybe SP shouldn't have torn up the Northwestern Pacific after all, funny how that works. 🤔
Cafe car return when 👀👀👀
will the smart train ever be extended south to sf?
Unfortunately not. Those tracks have been out of commission for years, and some ripped out. The best we can hope for is some connection with BART in the future. Nothing against the ferry, it's just not my preferred method of transit.
Maybe in 20 years
@@IndustrialParrot2816 I can dream
@@atthemoment14 i imagine it'll probably happen after they build the Caltrain/Amtrak Transbay Crossing which will probably happen in maybe 15 to 20 years assuming the Funding Comes in about 2030 which it likely will given shifting political winds, honestly at this point it's kind of just a waiting game
Seattle to LA!
That Amtrak route is beautiful!
Oh the Coast Starlight yeah thats a nice Route wish it didn't get delayed so often also it should run twice a Day instead of just once
@@IndustrialParrot2816 agreed
Can't wait for the grand opening in 2078!
Hey, I remember this, we tried this before with a high speed rail. Glad to see that turned out well. I bet we can do it again. (sarcasm)
Another train to ?
Rural Rail is important (also its California, and California doesn't have any nowhere your Towns are Cities)
You're on the wrong side of things. With that $81 million dollars, you should shorten the walk in Larkspur from the Ferry to the actual train stop in Larkspur. It involves a half mile walk up and over a huge bridge. Fix the distance from the Larkspur Ferry to the Larkspur Train Stop. Thank you.
That's what they have the SMART Connect shuttle for.
Cloverdale’s has a station but no train. I hear work is to begin on a intergalactic airport for Cloverdale!
I know right where you're talking about that station's been there for years thanks for your comment
Awesome !
Nice
Cutesy but not demure. Respectfully, the vision is short cited. Connect job hub to job hub so that the train service isn't a leisure component but an economic local powerhouse.
Say goodbye to funding if the reality TV man gets back in the oval office
can't wait for more infrastructure delays and stripping of rights and regulations
Connect the Smart Train to BART... this train is fing pointless without connecting to already built infrastructure. Who ever is doing this fire them... so windsor to Healdsburg is what less than 10miles... and it costs $81million. Of our tax money and then charge to ride it not cheap. Atleast give me a glass whine while u.... f me. 🤯
A SMART/BART connection would be amazing. I can't believe the higher ups said no to extending BART to the North Bay. The ferry is great and all, but not my preferred method of transit. We need a good connection from Sonoma/Marin/Napa Counties to the East Bay. The only current option is to take the bus from San Rafael then take either the Golden Gate or Solono County bus to Richmond and then take BART. I mean not too bad, but connections aren't great compared to some place like LA where you would still need to take 3 or 4 transit lines, but the difference there is the connection times are better.
Probably one of the only good things that California is decent at.
Who else loathes Gavin Newsom!?!
Not me, his going to lead this great state to the future. And hopefully contribute to us winning the World Cup
Spending more money they don't have.
It's Marin... are you kidding? They're drowning in wealth LMAO. They could afford high speed rail if they really wanted
Oh no California has money (would have even more if it wasn't Subsidizing Rural America)
80mill for a few miles 😂. China is gonna cream us in production cost
Hey thats waaaaay better than spending 5 billion for 3 miles of Light Rail
It is CLEAR that you do not care how you spend other peoples money. NOBODY is on yer train! I would love to her the REAL MATH! My guess is yer at about a 1000 bucks per passenger so far. WASTEFUL
the promise to spend tax payer money to build and operate it. another money pit.
Transit is never a Boondoggle its worth ANY cost
But i'm in SOCal why should i have to put money to something i'd never use..
Tax money from NorCal gets used in SoCal too. That's just how governments work.
Likewise, how do I benefit from paying taxes into your LA metro or funding the maintenance of your 405? Maybe consider the importance of interconnected systems and indirect benefits. Sincerely SFBA
Thats how Society works its the entire point of Having a Government in the First place
It’ll still be crap if you let hobos and addicts near it.
its pretty nice to ride. its mostly ridden by commuters. Homeless people and addicts don't really have much of a reason to be going in between Marin and Sonoma. Plus there is a conductor that makes sure everyone gets off at the end of the line.
This is Marin and Sonoma you're talking about, be real
Not very Smart. You have a lot of homeless Elderly people and Special Needs People . Don’t you think you could have made a better decision on how to spend the money?
Aren't the elderly and special needs some of the people who benefit the most from public transit since they disproportionately can't drive?
Grant money can only be spent on what it is issued for?
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81mil is not massive funding. No ine uses this train its dead and a waste of money
Keep hating 😂
If you say it's not a lot of funding, why even say it's a waste of money? Even though it's definitely not a waste.
not true
Transit is never a Waste of Money also California is the most Densely populated state in the Country there less populated places getting entire Subway systems
If you ride that your not to smart😂
Typical Chelsea fan. Always hating
You can find a direct correlation between how much train travel a country has and it's average IQ
And why is that? It’s safer than driving, goes 80 mph, and you don’t have to stress about traffic. Not to mention it’s fun!
*You're
*you're and *too
Great more taxes FML 🤦🏻♀️ 🤬
What a waste of money. We have bigger problems
I thought they were talking about Fairfield and Vallejo Vacaville etc… they need a train and a connect to Bart somehow those little towns don’t need that
Very true. I was just in the East Bay last week and it was a hassle to get home. We need a good connection from Sonoma/Marin/Napa/Solono Counties to the East Bay. The only current option is to take the bus from San Rafael (which SMART goes to) then take either the Golden Gate or Solono County bus to Richmond and then take the Bart. I mean not too bad, but connections aren't great compared to some place like LA where you would still need to take 3 or 4 transit lines, but the difference there is the connection times are better.
Yeah it's not going to fix anything. It's just a waste of time
I don't think so