WestCAT

WestCAT

WestCAT branded Gillig Low-Floor traveling along the JPX route
Parent Western Contra Costa Transit Authority
Founded 1977
Headquarters 601 Walter Ave, Pinole
Service area Contra Costa County, California
Service type transit bus, express bus, paratransit
Routes 14
Stops 300
Fleet 57
Daily ridership 4,944
Fuel type Diesel, Gasoline, & Hybrid Electric
Operator MV Transportation
Website westcat.org

WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County (north of Oakland, CA). It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority.

The Western Contra Costa County Transit (WestCAT) was established in August 1977 as a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement between Contra Costa County and the cities of Hercules and Pinole. It was created with the purpose of owning, operating and administering a public transportation system serving the area between the Richmond/El Sobrante border to the west and the Al Zampa Memorial Bridge to the east. WestCAT is governed by a 7-member Board of Directors and supported by professional staff of seven. The two cities of Pinole and Hercules are each represented by two board members, while the unincorporated communities of Crockett, Rodeo, and MonTaraBay each have one representative, appointed by the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors.

WestCAT's fleet started out with shuttle vans, and then using buses made by El Dorado National and Thomas Built Buses. Now, WestCAT runs an almost all Gillig fleet, ranging from 19 Gillig Phantoms, to 18 Gillig Low Floors. WestCAT also has 5 Motor Coach Industries (MCI) over-the-road coaches for use on the LYNX. In addition, WestCAT has 10 Ford E-450 Paratransit vans, and 2 Toyota Camry hybrid electric sedans used for Dial-A-Ride.

Fixed-route service

As of September 2013, WestCAT provides a network of local and express bus routes throughout western Contra Costa County.[1] In addition, WestCAT operates regional service between Martinez (Route 30Z) and the Hercules Transit Center and between the Hercules Transit Center and Contra Costa College (Route C3). The (Local) routes are 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. Also (Express) JX, JL/JR (referred to as the "J" by most riders, the "L" designates via Lakeside Drive, and the "R" designates via Richmond Parkway), JPX (serves Pinole Valley residents wanting to go to the Hercules Transit Center or BART). Also, WestCAT operates transbay service between the Hercules Transit Center and the San Francisco Transbay Terminal called the LYNX with stops in the Rodeo Park and Ride located on Willow Avenue, North Shore Business Park near Bio-Rad, the Victoria by the Bay neighborhood in Hercules and the Hercules Transit Center. From the Hercules Transit Center the line then goes nonstop to San Francisco via the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-80. WestCAT currently offers free Wi-Fi service on the LYNX line.[2]

Major transfer points for the majority of WestCAT and other agency's routes include:

Routes

Route Number Direction Terminals Days of Operation Schedule Information Notes
North/East Terminal South/West Terminal
10 Loop Hercules Transit Center - Turquoise Weekdays Route 10 Schedule
11 Loop Hercules Transit Center - Crockett Weekdays and Saturdays Route 11 Schedule
12 Loop Hercules Transit Center - Mandalay/Bonaire Weekdays Route 12 Schedule
15 Loop Hercules Transit Center - Viewpointe Blvd Weekdays Route 15 Schedule
16 Loop Richmond Parkway Transit Center - Wright Ave/Doidge Ave Weekdays Route 16 Schedule
17 Loop Richmond Parkway Transit Center - Cypress/Broadmore Weekdays (except midday) Route 17 Schedule
18 Loop Richmond Parkway Transit Center - Tara Hills Weekdays (except midday) Route 18 Schedule
19 Loop Hercules Transit Center - Hilltop Mall Shopping Center Saturdays Only Route 19 Schedule [19]
C3
Regional Route
East-West Hercules Transit Center
Contra Costa College Weekdays Route C3 Schedule
30Z
Regional Route
East-West Martinez Amtrak Hercules Transit Center Weekdays Route 30Z Schedule [30Z]
J
(JR/JL)
Express Route
North-South Hercules Transit Center
Weekdays
Willow/Viewpointe
Weekdays after 8pm & Weekends
El Cerrito del Norte BART Daily Route J Schedule [J]
JX
Express Route
North-South Hercules Transit Center El Cerrito del Norte BART Weekdays (except midday) Route JX Schedule
JPX
Express Route
North-South Hercules Transit Center El Cerrito del Norte BART Weekdays Route JPX Schedule [JPX]
LYNX
Transbay Route
North-South Willow Avenue
Commute trips
Hercules Transit Center
Non-commute trips
S.F. Transbay Terminal Weekdays (limited holiday service) Route LYNX Schedule [LYNX]

Fares

Fares are effective 1 October 2008.[3]

Cash and Passes

Route Type Adult/Student (6-64) Senior (65+)/Disabled
Fixed Route/Express Single ride US$1.75 US$0.75
Day Pass US$3.50 US$1.50
31-Day Pass US$40.00 US$20.00
Stored Value Pass US$20.00 US$7.50
East Bay Value Pass # US$60.00 US$60.00
LYNX Transbay Route Single ride US$5.00 US$2.00
31-Day Pass US$140.00 US$70.00
10-Ride Pass US$50.00 US$20.00
Dial-A-Ride Single ride US$4.00 US$1.25
Discount Tickets not available US$10.00
ADA Paratransit Single ride not available US$3.00
Discount Tickets not available US$25.00

Transfer

Route Transfer from Adult/Student (6-64) Senior (65+)/Disabled
Fixed Route/Express other WestCAT buses, Capitol Corridor, County Connection, and Tri Delta Transit FREE FREE
BART, SolTrans, AC Transit, and Golden Gate Transit US$1.00 US$0.50
LYNX Local trips WestCAT Local Fixed Routes/Express FREE FREE
LYNX Transbay Route WestCAT Local Fixed Routes/Express US$3.25 US$1.25

Service Area

A WestCAT fixed route bus at the temporary San Francisco Transbay Terminal.

WestCAT provides service to the communities of:

The local transportation demand management organization 511 Contra Costa also provides information for intermodal transfers throughout Contra Costa County, and works closely with WestCAT to help transit users make regional connections beyond their immediate service area.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 03, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.