SMART reports record ridership with weekend bump that bodes well for summer tourism

By Natalie Hanson | The Press Democrat (TNS)

PETALUMA, CALIF. — Transit operators and economic development officials say they hope a recent spike in weekend SMART train riders will translate to greater economic gains throughout the region, including in summer tourism.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit saw 148,000 riders in May, the highest total ever recorded in one month, the agency’s planning manager Zoe Unruh told The Press Democrat. That number may be even higher because the agency doesn’t record youth who ride for free, she said.

The agency says that growth in riders, especially on the weekends as SMART increased the total number of trips offered on Saturday and Sunday from 16 to 24, could be due to more people wanting to use public transit for leisure and tourism across the North Bay. Unruh pointed to the implementation of the Marin-Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service (MASCOTS) plan in April, with nine regional transit agencies aligning their schedules to improve transfers and expand service along the Highway 101 corridor.

The MASCOTS plan boosted weekday service across the system from 42 to 48 SMART train trips per day, with more trains running earlier in the morning, more often during the day and later into the evening. Alongside the improvements to SMART, Golden Gate Transit Route 101 also began operating more frequently between San Rafael and San Francisco, with buses every 30 minutes all day and every 15 minutes during weekday peak periods.

Unruh said following the increase in service across the system by 19%, SMART recorded an overall 25% increase in riders for May compared to the same month in 2025. They particularly saw “tremendous weekend ridership” with a 54% growth in Sunday trips and a 71% growth in Saturday trips during that month.

She said it was surprising to see such a sharp increase in ridership so quickly, as it can take time for riders to learn about new schedule opportunities and adjust their habits.

“There’s more to the story than just SMART ridership,” Unruh added, pointing to the number of agencies across both counties and in San Francisco that contributed to making the MASCOTS plan work.

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Local transit agencies told The Press Democrat that while it’s too early to know for sure, they’re hopeful that data will demonstrate that expanded services and improved connections are having economic benefits.

Sonoma County Transit general manager Emily Betts said in an interview that the increase in trip options throughout the week and both earlier and later in the day is a “direct investment” in the region’s economic opportunity. “The service increased quite a bit. More service will equal more riders.”

Betts, who formerly served as SMART’s planning manager, said the extended ride times offered into the evenings are particularly helpful for people who want to take public transit around the area for dinner and return at night without driving.

“More frequency offers more flexibility for the riders,” Betts said. “If you’re a parent of young children, for instance, you won’t head out in the morning if there is a three-hour gap … in the middle of the day and you might not be able to return until much later. But now we have trips (about) every hour … which encourages ridership, because it gives people more options.”

Petaluma’s interim transit manager Maria Arce agreed that improving regional transit connections helps bring more people to major local community events such as the Butter & Egg Days Parade, for example.

“These events attract visitors from throughout the Bay Area, and strong connections between local transit, regional bus services and SMART help people reach Petaluma without relying solely on a car,” Arce said. “Making it easier for residents and visitors to travel between communities supports local businesses, community events, and tourism throughout the region.”

Scott Adair, Santa Rosa’s deputy director of economic development, said while his team is not directly tracking the program’s economic impacts, the improvements create potential “to strengthen regional connectivity and support economic vitality throughout the North Bay.” He said for downtown Santa Rosa, for example, the service improvements may increase foot traffic, support local restaurants and retailers and enhance access to jobs, services, and entertainment destinations.

The Historic Railroad Square Association told The Press Democrat that the extended SMART trip hours mean visitors can enjoy evening events at local favorites such as 4th St Cellars’ Music by the Barrels and Stonemason Cellars’ Happy Hour, while being able to catch evening trains south to Petaluma and Marin or north to Windsor and Healdsburg.

Ananda Sweet, CEO at Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, said the chamber has for years advocated for better connectivity and the SMART train is an important resource in that effort. She said the chamber’s partners are glad to see the coordination between the transit agencies as an overall effort to improve tourism in Santa Rosa and beyond, including this summer.

But the city has more plans underway to improve its own connections. Rachel Ede, deputy director of Santa Rosa Transit & CityBus, said one of the city’s goals is to always have a bus running through the downtown area every 15 minutes, and in the past the local operator struggled to coordinate with other regional transit services, with so many route needs.

The MASCOTS program is an important first step “to effectively feed the regional network,” as it helps improve ridership during weekdays and particularly on the weekends for those who increasingly prefer not to drive to get around for recreation as well as for work, she said. However, the program cannot address more specific citywide transit gaps, which her agency is working on improving this summer.

“I think it creates a lot of opportunity to improve access for a range of uses and also leverages the investments we’ve made in other modes (of transportation),” Ede said. “All of these things together really support tourism and access to jobs and education. There is a need and demand that was not being met, and there are ways to capture that going forward … by further optimizing the transit and multimodal network.”

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