Media Contact: Randol White, 650-647-3489
The San Mateo County Transit District will launch Route EPX on Monday, Feb. 12, at 5:54 a.m. in East Palo Alto and 5:05 a.m. at San Bruno BART.
The new express service will primarily use zero-emission battery-electric buses along its route with limited stops in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, the SFO AirTrain, San Bruno and downtown San Francisco.
It connects passengers with key transit hubs including Caltrain’s Redwood City Station and adjacent Transit Center, San Bruno BART, SFO AirTrain Station/Rental Car Center and SF Muni lines in the Financial District.
EPX is a weekday express route that utilizes the San Mateo County 101 Express Lanes, giving it a leg up on typical rush-hour traffic backups between Redwood City and San Bruno.
In addition, SamTrans is happy to announce that it won’t cost extra to ride EPX because the agency recently adjusted its express fares to match the standard fare of $2.25 ($2.05 with Clipper).
An official launch party took place on Friday, Feb. 9, at the SamTrans bus stop adjacent to Cardenas Market in East Palo Alto where local political and community leaders spoke about the need for this new express service.
“This route is the result of a solid partnership between my city, SamTrans, and the developers of the Light Tree Apartments,” said East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio Lopez. “Our cooperation helped us secure the necessary funding to make this equitable route become a reality.”
In June 2019, SamTrans, with Eden Housing and the city of East Palo Alto, received the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program award for the Light Tree development in East Palo Alto. For SamTrans, the grant brought in $2.25 million for three new electric buses to help with the eight buses needed to run Route EPX. The Light Tree development is 100% affordable housing and transit passes are provided to residents.
“We at SamTrans are in the business of helping people get where they need to go,” said SamTrans Board Chair Marina Fraser. “The EPX is a big step in that direction, connecting South San Mateo County residents to transit systems that cover the entirety of the Bay Area.”
In order to reduce redundancy in the system, SamTrans will discontinue Route 398. Customers can take the new EPX for access to the airport as well as other replacement options provided by other SamTrans routes.
SamTrans is also making other key changes to its bus service starting on Sunday, Feb. 11, as part of its Reimagine SamTrans initiative.
The transportation workhorse of SamTrans, Route ECR, will have weekend frequency increased to every 15 minutes. It was previously every half hour on Saturdays and Sundays. ECR runs the length of San Mateo County, mostly along Highway 82 (El Camino Real), between Daly City and the Palo Alto Transit Center. The ECR carries nearly a third of all daily SamTrans passengers.
Finally, San Mateo County Coastside residents will be happy to learn that Route 110, serving Pacifica and Daly City, will see its weekday frequency increase to every 30 minutes throughout the day.
To see a complete list of changes coming on Feb. 11, visit the Reimagine SamTrans page.
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About SamTrans:
The San Mateo County Transit District operates 71 routes and two on-demand service areas. Funded in part by a half-cent sales tax, the district also provides administrative support for Caltrain and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. SamTrans has provided bus service to San Mateo County customers since 1976.
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