Golden Gate Transit disses Novato commuters
June 18, 2014 8 Comments
Service meltdown.
Last month, Novato transit rider Danny Skarka reported on a bus driver’s claim that, due to a lack of drivers, commute Route 54 would often have cancelled buses under the new schedule. I never heard back from Golden Gate Transit (GGT) about the claim, but it seems Skarka’s driver was right.
For a number of days since the start of the new schedule, Route 54 has cancelled runs without prior notice, apparently on both the southbound and northbound trips. Another rider, Andrew Fox, reports:
[T]he last two 54s I’ve been on have been absolutely jam-packed. Last Wednesday there were numerous standees due to a canceled bus (I took Thursday and Friday off, so I don’t know about those days), and then of course you know about the situation this morning. We had 9 standees, all of whom got on at the busy Alameda del Prado bus pad/park-and-ride.
In my experience the 54 is a very busy bus. Commuters in Novato like me really rely upon it, especially given how miserable traffic has become in the last few years. I for one refuse to drive into the city anymore. Novato commuters have the choice of two different commute bus routes: the 56 or the 54, but the majority of them use the 54 due to the fact that it stops in more locations than the 56. This is a pretty lousy way to encourage transit use.
It’s irksome to see these buses canceled, especially when we hear news of new routes in Southern Marin (“the Wave Bus”) and see buses to Mill Valley (the 4) fly by every 5 minutes or so.
It also seems as though the problem is not isolated to the 54. Sonoma commuter Kathryn Hecht, who rides the 74, reported a cancelled evening run that meant an hour-long delay in San Francisco, as well as a cancelled morning run:
Hey @GoldenGateBus. SB #74 (6:12 4th/c) canceled today? Did this go out in a text alert?
— Kathryn Hecht (@kphechtny) June 16, 2014
@GoldenGateBus Also 3:05PM NB on 6/12 (waited for hour then stood whole way). Text alerts please? #NoBueno
— Kathryn Hecht (@kphechtny) June 16, 2014
In any other industry, spotty quality is a sign of either a collapsing business model or inept management. The customer service experience is paramount to building a strong brand and strong customer base. For a scheduled service, like transit, this is even more important. People expect consistency, and they expect the schedule to be a promise, not a maybe.
We’ve discussed GGT’s failures in the past, but this is far worse than avoiding real-time arrival systems or not allowing rear-door exits. Simply put, GGT is making a stealth cut to Northern Marin and Sonoma service to expand Central and Southern Marin service. This is bad business and a further sign of GGT’s lack of managerial skill. If it continues, it will lose customers and turn what should be a premium transit product into a product of last resort.
GGT is burning its brand, and for no reason. It should immediately hire new drivers to staunch the bleeding and issue a very public apology to its Northern Marin and Sonoma commuters, perhaps with free rides for a month on the effected routes.
There are deeper structural problems to GGT’s service model, of which this is just a symptom. GGT needs to staunch this bleeding and change its operating model to ensure problems like this never happen again.
About David Edmondson
The Greater Marin 
I recall reading somewhere recently that a bus route in northern Marin that had many stops was cancelled due to lack of ridership one that. I see reference to to this route have many riders. Do we have average ridership for this route?
I believe you are referring to a local community shuttle, which wouldn’t have left Novato. This one, as a commuter route, would get a lot more ridership. If I ever hear back from GGT, I’ll ask them for ridership.
When I am at Levi’s plaza, every 54 or 56 I see come by is packed to the gills. As a rider of the 72 and 74, they are always crowded. Frankly all three lines could use more service.
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Golden Gate Transit’s goal is to never cancel trips on our routes, and we do everything possible to prevent cancellations. Unfortunately, we have fewer drivers right now due to a much higher attrition rate than expected. Because of this shortage of drivers, we have had more cancellations than we have experienced for some time. Employees are volunteering to work extra hours to minimize these disruptions in service. When Golden Gate Transit is forced to make a cancellation, we rotate routes so that one route is not harder hit than any other. We try to distribute cancellations as evenly as possible throughout our system. We encourage our customers to sign up for our rider alerts so they may get notification via email or text when there are cancellations or other service disruptions. Visit our website at http://www.goldengate.org to sign up for these alerts.
The current bus operator class graduates later this summer, with another class expected to graduate by the end of the year. Both of these classes are larger than most training classes, and will hopefully provide Golden Gate Transit the manpower it needs to prevent cancellations. We appreciate your patience while we work hard to alleviate this problem and want our riders to know that we are dedicated to bringing you reliable service.
Thank you very much for explaining the situation. It’s good to hear there’s relief in sight.
Real-time arrivals would be similarly helpful, especially for infrequent riders who don’t subscribe to text or email alerts. Any news on when that’s going to happen?
I’ve been left at bus stops waiting for the 24 three times in a week due to cancelled busses. Be careful GGT! You’re becoming more like SfMuni!
I hope these drivers get here soon!
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