A Sacramento Regional Transit bus drives north on Freeport Boulevard near William Land Park in Sacramento on Dec. 17, 2024. Several changes are coming to select routes on the RT network to improve performance times.
Nathaniel Levine
nlevine@sacbee.com
Sacramento Regional Transit weekday bus schedules will shift next month as part of an effort to improve timing and arrival accuracy for travelers going to Elk Grove, UC Davis, Roseville and other destinations.
Starting April 6, the agency will amend seven bus routes — Routes 21, 25, 68, 81, 93, 137 and 138 — to better reflect real-world conditions, such as traffic flow and ridership, RT spokesperson Jessica Gonzalez said.
Most of the changes are small, such as departure and arrival times shifting two minutes, while others are larger.
Bus Route 137, which extends from Elk Grove to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, will remain on Highway 99 for longer, eliminating two stops along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“It was taking a really long time on MLK because (the bus) was passing Christian Brothers High School, and we were stuck in that traffic,” Gonzalez said. “Staying on 99 longer will help us get to the Med Center in the time that we really need.”
Gonzalez said one of the stops being eliminated had only one rider and the other had none, according to the automated people counters installed on buses.
The adjustments are meant to help buses arrive on time more consistently and to better match other transit schedules, Gonzalez said.
New schedules are online at sacrt.com/servicechanges and available by phone at 916-321-BUSS. Here are the rest of the changes:
Route 21 will add up to eight minutes of travel time for some trips headed to the Mather Field/Mills light rail station. The route runs from the light rail station to the Louis Lane/Orlando Avenue transit center in Roseville, mostly via Sunrise Boulevard.
Route 25 will add up to five minutes for certain trips headed to the Marconi/Arcade light rail station. Up to two minutes will be added to some trips headed to the Louis/Orlando transit center. The route runs between Roseville and the Cannon Industrial Park neighborhood of North Sacramento.
Route 68 will leave Arden Fair mall at 3:58 p.m., two minutes later than before, and all consequential trips will shift accordingly. The route runs between the mall and Cosumnes River College.
Route 81 will adjust all routes “to better mimic actual service conditions” and up to five minutes of travel time will be added for routes headed toward the University/65th light rail station. The route runs between the station and the bus stop at Riverside Boulevard and Florin Road in the Pocket and Greenhaven neighborhoods of south Sacramento.
Route 93 will add up to four minutes for some trips headed toward the Watt/I-80 light rail station and up to three minutes for some trips going to the Louis/Orlando transit center. The route runs between Roseville and North Highlands.
Route 138 will add up to 10 minutes for some trips going to UC Davis Medical Center and up to nine minutes for travelers headed to three stops on UC Davis’ main campus via the Yolo Causeway.
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Madison Smalstig covers transportation for The Sacramento Bee. Before joining The Bee, she reported on breaking news, focusing on crime and public safety, in the North Bay for three years. Smalstig is a born and raised Hoosier and earned degrees in journalism and Spanish at Indiana University.