SacRT’s ridership has declined significantly since the outbreak of COVID-19. The ridership drop increased the week beginning March 15 with school and business closures, and then further as a California state-wide shelter-in-place order was implemented. Since that time, SacRT has experienced an estimated 75% decline in ridership system-wide; however, thanks to the perseverance of SacRT employees in all functions, we have been able to maintain essential bus and light rail transit services during this unprecedented time.
In addition to the drop in ridership, SacRT has also experienced a significant reduction in workforce due to COVID-19 related childcare and school closures, and other circumstances. With this in mind, on March 23, SacRT had to make the difficult decision to temporarily reduce service to a Sunday Plus schedule (details can be found at
sacrt.com
).
SacRT staff continues to monitor all routes and services daily to see if additional service needs to be added to maintain ideal social distancing conditions. In fact, SacRT is currently working on adding additional trips back to peak commute bus routes that have more than 10 riders per trip. A revised service schedule will be announced and released next week. We also have additional buses on standby to assist on all routes as needed.
On light rail, we are seeing light ridership on the Gold Line and will consistently operate two car trains to maintain proper social distancing for our customers effective Monday, March 30. On the Blue Line, we are seeing moderate ridership during peak commute hours and will continue to operate three car trains during this time period and reduce to two car trains during all other times of the day. This reduction still allows for social distancing on light rail, while providing more frequent opportunity to sanitize vehicles not in use. Similar to bus service, we will continue to monitor light rail ridership and add extra trains if we see an increase in riders at any time.
Due to shelter-in-place orders, SacRT has closed all public offices, with the exception of our Customer Sales Center, which has reduced hours:
Customer Service and Sales Center Hours:
- Customer Service Call Center hours will not be affected (916-321-2877)
- Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Customer Sales Center hours are reduced (1225 R Street)
- Walk-ins allowed Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. only
SacRT continues to take proactive measures against the spread of COVID-19:
- Buses and light rail vehicles are sanitized every night
- Buses and light rail vehicles are fogged with chlorine dioxide to deep clean
- Employees are provided with hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and disposable gloves
- Customers are urged to report any sanitation or cleaning issues on the system
We want to remind riders to maintain a social distance of at least six feet from operators and other passengers when possible, and continue to exercise these well-established tips for a healthier commute:
- Frequent hand washing
- Use hand sanitizers when soap and water are unavailable
- Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth
- Cover your cough or sneeze with bent elbow or tissue
- Stay home when feeling sick
SacRT understands the service we provide is critical to our community and will continue to communicate timely service information as soon as possible. Thank you for your continue patronage!
Visit
SacRT.com
for the most up to date information.
