SamTrans fleet

The San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) fleet of buses has operated throughout San Mateo County since 1976, after county voters approved the formation of samTrans in 1974 to merge 11 predecessor municipal bus systems.

samTrans North Base, the primary maintenance and storage facility for the bus fleet near San Francisco International Airport (2010)

Summary
🌍
samTrans Facilities 
  •  Maintenance and storage 
  •  Administrative 
  •  Contract operator 

1
North Base
2
samTrans Headquarters
3
South Base
4
Brewster Depot
5
Half Moon Bay (MV Transportation)

As of March 2018, SamTrans operates a total of 379 vehicles in revenue service.[1] SamTrans has two maintenance facilities for its fixed-route bus fleet. SamTrans headquarters are in San Carlos, California, one block southwest from the San Carlos Caltrain station. In addition, two facilities are used by its paratransit operator, MV Transportation: one at Brewster Depot in Redwood City, and another facility in Half Moon Bay.

Livery

The samTrans livery is predominantly white with red and blue stripes. Early buses featured linear horizontal stripes, and starting with the 2009 Gillig BRTs, the stripes are curved along the sides.[2] A new variant of the livery was introduced later; the base color is silver, instead of white, and the blue stripe extends from below the front door to the beltline at the rear, with a red stripe starting from the headlight and flowing up to the roof.

Fixed-route fleet

Under the California Air Resources Board Innovative Clean Transit regulation adopted in December 2018, public transit agencies in California will gradually transition to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.[3] SamTrans has set a goal of transitioning to an all-electric fleet by 2032.[4] SamTrans considers fixed-route vehicles to have a service lifetime of 12 years.[5]

Current
Mfr & Model Type Fleet Numbers Year Built Qty ImageNotes
Gillig BRT 40-ft 400-490 2009[2] 91
  • 450-490 are assigned to contract runs, operated by MV Transportation.
  • Standard rear styling
600-649 2017 50 Standard rear styling
40-ft Hybrid 700-724 2013 25
40-ft 900-920 2014 21
35-ft 500-539 2010[2] 40 535-539 are assigned to contract runs, operated by MV Transportation
Gillig Low Floor 29-ft 2900-2903 2009[2] 4 No rear door. Operated by MV Transportation. Specifically used on route 17.[6]
2910-2913 2013 No rear door
2950-2961 2014 12
New Flyer XD60 60-ft artic. 800-854 2019 55
  • Intended to be the last purchase of diesel buses.[7] Pilot bus 800 delivered April 2019.[8]
  • Full-roof spec

On order
Mfr & Model Type Fleet Numbers Year Built Qty ImageNotes
New Flyer XE40 (NG) 40-ft ? 2021?[9] 7 To be operated on a new route on US 101, serving East Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Francisco International Airport, and San Bruno BART
New Flyer XHE40 1000-1009 2023?[10] 10 To begin service in 2023
Gillig Low Floor (battery-electric) ? 2023?[10] 20 To begin service in 2023

Retired
Mfr & ModelTypeFleet NumbersYear BuiltQtyPreserved Unit(s)Last RetiredImageNotes
General Motors Old Look 35-ft 200-213; 215-218 1947 18 TDH-4507 models acquired from various transit operators in 1976.
37' 9" 214, 219 2 TDH-4801 models acquired from various transit operators in 1976.
30-ft 242 1 TDH-3501 model acquired from Northgate Transit in 1976.
28-ft 243 1 TGH-3102 model acquired from Northgate Transit in 1976.
General Motors New Look 35-ft 100-137; 175-187 1960-67 51 1985 TDH-4517, -4518, and -4519; T6H-4523N models acquired from various transit operators in 1976; replaced in 1985.
40-ft 151-167; 9801-9849 1960-63 17 1985 TDH-5301 and -5303; TDM-5303 models acquired from various transit operators in 1976; replaced in 1985.
Flxible New Look 40-ft 150 1963 1 1983 Acquired from Seattle Metro (ex-778).
AM General Metropolitan 35-ft coach 400-443 1977 44 EQ1 (439),[lower-alpha 1] EQ2 (440)[lower-alpha 1] 1990 "Earthquake buses" EQ1 and EQ2 were retained in the contingency fleet,[11] replaced by 2017.[12]
40-ft coach 500-529 30
Crown-Ikarus 286 60-ft articulated 700–709 1980 10 1992? Placed in reserve fleet by 1985.
Flyer D900 35-ft coach 300-359 1980 60 1994 Some were transferred to Muni to serve in the reserve fleet. They retained the samTrans fleet number with an "R" appended.
40-ft coach 600-652 53
Gillig Phantom 40-ft coach 400-437 1990 38 2004
600-665; 667-672 1998 72 635,[lower-alpha 2] DR1 (651), DR2 (637) 2015 635, 637 (DR2), and 651 (DR1) retained in contingency fleet for marketing & outreach, replacing AM General EQ1/EQ2 (1977) and Gillig 852 (1984).[12][11]
800-821 1983 22 1998
850-899 1984 50 852[lower-alpha 3] 2003 852 replaced as marketing/outreach bus by 635.
900-972 1993 73 2010[2] Overhauled and life extended to 2008/10.[15]
9890-9895 1988 6 2006 Initially designated for training service.
35-ft coach 700-763 1993 64 2010[2] Overhauled and life extended to 2008/10.[15]
40-ft suburban 800-810 2003 11 2008 Ordered without rear doors; originally intended for route REX (Regional EXpress).
Volvo B10M 60-ft articulated 100-114 1985 15 2002-03 Scrapped
Neoplan USA AN460A 60-ft articulated 116-130 1985 15 2002 Assigned to contract runs originally operated by Greyhound Peninsula Lines until 1990, Grosvenor Bus Lines until the early 2000's and finally MV Transportation. They sported "9" in front of their fleet numbers.

(9)129 was totaled in an accident in 1995 and was scrapped.[2][3] Retired circa 2002-2003. All units were scrapped.

NFI D60 60-ft articulated 500-539 1990 40 2004 500-529 were originally assigned to contract runs, operated by Grosvenor Bus Lines until the early 2000's and later MV Transportation. They sported "9" in front of their fleet numbers. Most units ranging from 509-529 returned to the district shortly before retirement.

Retired in 2003-2004. Equipped with Detroit Diesel Series 92 (6V92) engines.[16]

Gillig Low Floor 40-ft coach 300-359 2003-04 60 2017 300-359 equipped with Detroit Diesel Series 50 engines.[16]
NABI 436 (60-SFW) 60 ft. High-floor Articulated bus 100–154 (0200-0254) 2002 55 2020[17] Last NABI 436 buses built.

First units entered service on 11/4/2002 and the last units entered service in January 2003. 147-154 were operated by MV Transportation for contracted routes. Later 141-146 were assigned to contracted routes. 137-140 were temporarily assigned to contracted runs, but later returned to the district.

Proterra Catalyst 40-ft, E2 battery 725–734[18] 2018-20 10 2020 First battery electric buses for samTrans.[19] Replica #750 exhibited in Oct 2018.[20] 2 of 2 "Lot 1" (400V) buses accepted, then retired due to technical issues;[21] 6 of 8 "Lot 2" (800V) buses delivered, then returned due to door issues.[21] Remainder of order canceled.[22]
Notes
  1. Sold at auction in 2015.
  2. Sold at auction in 2018.[13]
  3. Sold at auction in 2018.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Bus Fleet". samTrans. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  2. Rosenberg, Mike (December 28, 2009). "SamTrans rolls out new buses with sleeker look, more features". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  3. "California transitioning to all-electric public bus fleet by 2040" (Press release). California Air Resources Board. December 14, 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  4. "Caltrain, SamTrans Recognized for Achievements in Sustainability" (Press release). samTrans. April 16, 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  5. Community Relations Committee (November 2, 2016). "Building a SamTrans Bus" (PDF). samTrans. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  6. Reisman, Will (14 November 2014). "SamTrans Introduces new 29-Foot Buses With Quirky Features". Peninsula Moves!. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  7. "SamTrans to Purchase 55 Clean Diesel Articulated Buses" (Press release). samTrans. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  8. Community Relations Committee (December 5, 2018). "End-of-Year Performance Report FY 2018" (PDF). samTrans. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  9. "NFI receives order from SamTrans in California for seven battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG buses" (Press release). NFI Group, Inc. October 29, 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  10. "SamTrans to Purchase 30 Zero-Emission Buses" (Press release). San Mateo County Transit District. June 7, 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  11. "Table 16: Revenue Vehicle Inventory". SamTrans Short Range Transit Plan 2014-2023 (PDF) (Report). samTrans. December 29, 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. "Table 21: Revenue Vehicle Inventory". SamTrans Short Range Transit Plan 2017-2026 (PDF) (Report). samTrans. May 3, 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "Lot # : 850 - 1998 Gillig 40' Transit Bus, VIN 15GCD2115W1088804". Bar None Auction. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  14. "Lot # : 849 - 1984 Gillig Muni Bus, VIN 15GCD0812E1080786". Bar None Auction. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  15. "Table 4-1: FY2009-FY2018 Capital Improvement Program". SamTrans Short Range Transit Plan 2009-2018 (PDF) (Report). samTrans. May 3, 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  16. "Appendix H: Revenue Equipment Inventory". SamTrans Interim Short Range Transit Plan 2004-2013 (PDF) (Report). samTrans. September 8, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2004.
  17. "jaime espitia on Instagram: "as much as it pains my heart as of today the last nabi artic in service retired today so as of March 24th 2020 no more nabis to see or ride…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  18. @SamTrans (January 9, 2019). "The Debut of the First Completed #SamTrans Electric Bus ⚡️ Environmentally Friendly ⚡️ Improved Safety + Performance ⚡️ USB charging ports Buses can carry up to 38 seated + 18 standing passengers and exterior bike racks can accommodate up to 3 bikes. #PlugIntoSamTrans" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "SamTrans to Purchase 10 Electric Buses" (Press release). samTrans. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  20. Swan, Rachel (October 15, 2018). "SamTrans prepares to roll out 10 electric buses in fleet-replacement program". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  21. Capital Projects Quarterly Status Report, 1st Quarter FY2021: July 01 – September 30, 2020 (PDF) (Report). San Mateo County Transit District. December 2, 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  22. Joyce, Gareth (February 25, 2022). "Contract No. 18-S-M-002 (Purchase and Delivery of 10 Battery Electric Buses and Charging Stations (the 'Contract')" (PDF). San Mateo County Transit District. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
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