Ridership Grows 26% in January, 2020

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 1:40pm

Petaluma, CA— SMART is excited to announce that early analysis of 2020 data shows total ridership grew by 26% between January 2020 and the same month of the previous year. This extraordinary growth in ridership is believed to be attributed to multiple factors including SMART’s new expanded service schedule with a 32-minute train frequency during weekday commute hours and the addition of two new stations in Downtown Novato and Larkspur.

SMART carried 72,000 riders in January 2020 alone, which signals that North Bay commuters are increasingly opting for the comfort and ease of SMART as opposed to sitting in a car idling in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Highway 101 generating tons of greenhouse gases. To put it into perspective, in one month alone, these 72,000 riders prevented 690,000 pounds of C02 from going out into the environment, compared to having completed the same trip in car.

“Residents of Sonoma and Marin counties value climate protection and are increasingly turning to low emission forms of transportation such as transit, bicycling and walking. SMART is a part of the climate-consciousness that is sweeping the North Bay,” said SMART Board Chair, Eric Lucan.

SMART's twelve stations connecting North Bay cities, provide access to places of employment, schools, and centers of commerce, as well as connect riders to other regional transit services. And, soon passenger service will extend to Windsor—construction of the railway’s extension to Windsor began in early January and other stations are planned for North Petaluma, Healdsburg, and Cloverdale.

“It pleases me greatly to see such a robust growth of green commuters aboard SMART. Climate change is the most critical issue we face today and is the reason why Sonoma County has declared a Climate Emergency,” said Board Member, David Rabbitt.

SMART ridership reports are available online. More information at SonomaMarinTrain.org