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Planning a Better, More Connected Future for Transit in Sonoma County

Sonoma County Transit (SCT), in partnership with the Sonoma County Transportation & Climate Authorities (SCTCA), Santa Rosa CityBus, and Petaluma Transit, has launched a comprehensive Strategic Transit Plan designed to guide transit improvements over the next five years. This effort will evaluate today’s transit network, engage the community, and create a roadmap for delivering a more reliable, accessible, and connected mobility system for riders across the county. This planning effort will happen from 2026 through early 2027, with a final plan anticipated in March 2027.

We Want Your Involvement!

Community input and involvement is critical. To receive notifications about community engagement opportunities and status updates, click here.

What This Project Will Do

During the COVID-19 pandemic, SCT saw major drops in ridership and farebox revenue as a result of shifting travel patterns, resulting in significant operational challenges.  While ridership is recovering consistently with regional trends, the SCT Strategic Transit Plan provides an opportunity for an in-depth look at what’s working and what improvements should be considered. Within this context, the Strategic Plan will:

Assess existing transit service across Sonoma County, including fixed-route, paratransit, and emerging mobility options.
Engage riders, residents, and stakeholders to understand community needs and priorities.
Identify gaps and opportunities to improve service coverage, frequency, accessibility, and regional connectivity.
Evaluate innovative mobility solutions such as micro transit and enhanced multimodal connections.
Develop an actionable five-year plan with recommended service improvements, infrastructure upgrades, and funding and policy strategies.

Community Engagement 

Our community’s voice is central to shaping the future of transit. During the planning process to date, we have conducted stakeholder interviews, hosted public meetings and open houses, and conducted a community survey and a passenger survey in English and Spanish, both electronically and in hard-copy format. Spanish-language interpretation and translated materials were available at the meetings to support broader community participation. We are now in the analysis phase and will hold a virtual evening workshop in October (date to be determined) to share draft recommendations. The draft service recommendations, and implementation priorities will draw directly from the needs analysis (currently underway) and community and rider feedback received from the outreach efforts.

Timeline

The Strategic Transit Plan will be completed by March 2027 and will include: 

  • A public presentation of findings 
  • A Draft Strategic Transit Plan for public and partner review 
  • A Final Strategic Transit Plan, including an executive summary and support materials 

Strategic Transit Plan Documents

Explore maps and ridership information developed as part of the Sonoma County Transit Strategic Transit Plan.

Map of the Sonoma County Transit route network and service areas

SCT Network

Map showing Sonoma County Transit routes and the communities and areas they serve.

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Route productivity map showing riders per service hour by route

Route Productivity

Map comparing SCT routes based on the number of riders carried per service hour.

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Map of Sonoma County Transit ridership by stop, with larger circles representing higher-ridership stops

SCT System Ridership by Stop

Map showing ridership activity by stop, with larger circles representing stops with higher ridership.

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Charts showing Sonoma County Transit ridership trends over time

SCT Ridership Trends

Overview of how ridership has changed over time across the Sonoma County Transit system.

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The summer workshops have been completed (see the summer workshop schedule below). Many participants that attended requested a copy of the PowerPoint presentation. For those interested, view the PowerPoint here.

Partners

This project is a collaborative effort between Sonoma County Transit (SCT), Sonoma County Transportation & Climate Authorities (SCTCA), Santa Rosa CityBus, Petaluma Transit, and the consultant team consisting of VRPA Technologies, Inc., and Via Mobility, LLC. 

Your Participation is Important!