Yolo County Transportation District proposed route changes for West Sacramento should help with connectivity to Route 42, which connects the city with Sacramento. Photo courtesy of Yolo County Transportation District

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – Keeping public transportation efficient, useful and affordable while planning for a possible future funding loss were some suggestions that West Sacramento City Council made during a Yolo County Transportation District (YoloTD) staff presentation about proposed transit changes.

The presentation at the Nov. 5 council meeting focused mainly on route changes that the district is proposing after conducting rider research as part of the update to its seven-year Short-Range Transit Plan (SRTP).

Survey responses during the research’s phase one indicated 64% of respondents preferred frequency of service over coverage, saying they would walk further if the bus came more frequently, while 57% said they preferred taking fixed route service over on-demand shared transportation, or microtransit, services. Additionally, respondents ranked better on-time service as their highest priority for improvement.

To address these responses, Yolo County transportation staff recommends modifying routes to 30-minute frequencies rather than the current one-hour model, creating more “one-seat rides” (non-transfers) to key areas for shopping, health care, schools and work destinations and relying on microtransit such as the city’s Via service to cover areas where fixed routes do not make sense. For West Sacramento, where Yolo County Transportation District operates four routes, that means changing from a coverage model to a frequency model.

“Essentially to show that we can have, offer the same or better service with the same miles and hours that we are currently offering for existing services,” Yolo County Transportation District senior transportation planner Lola Torney said.

The district is proposing combining routes 40, 41 and 240 into a new Route 38 while also reconfiguring Route 37. Route 37 was created in 2022 to replace discontinued routes 35 and 39. All four West Sacramento routes have shown a significant drop in ridership between 2020 and 2024.

This map shows the proposed transit service route changes in West Sacramento, including the combining of routes 40, 41 and 240 into a new Route 38 and reconfiguring Route 37 to provide enhanced north-south service. Graphic courtesy of Yolo County Transportation District

Routes 37 and 38 would operate on half-hour schedules and be timed to provide easy transfers to Route 42, an intercity route traveling through West Sacramento to downtown Sacramento and other eastside locations. Route 38 would provide newer and better north-south connections in the city by “allowing a one-seat ride from River City High School, through the Bridge District, Sutter Health Park, Broderick-Bryte, all the way to Walmart/Ikea shopping center in the northwest corner of the city.”

Phase two of Yolo County Transportation District’s outreach where survey respondents were asked to evaluate the proposed changes concluded the week ending Oct. 31. Of the 293 who responded county-wide, 63 commented on West Sacramento proposed changes, with the majority indicating support for the recommendations.

Of those against, Torney said, most wanted to see expanded service to South River Road and Village Parkway.

“Still in Southport but more on the east side of the city, which we are not recommending in this plan,” she added.

While questioning some of the survey data about riders’ preferences, Councilwoman Danté Early, who is the council’s representative on the Yolo Transportation District board; asked about plans for possible service reductions, especially given current uncertainty about funding levels and sources. According to the city staff report, West Sacramento utilizes approximately $3 million in state Transportation Development Act funding to “support Yolobus fixed route, paratransit and administrative costs.”

Money not utilized by Yolo County Transportation District is used by the city for its own transit programs, including Via microtransit service.

“I’m not sure we will always be able to afford Via,” Early said, adding that loss of the service would have particularly hard impacts on neighborhoods such as Broderick-Bryte.

Yolo County Transportation District Director Autumn Bernstein said three scenarios were being looked at: the differences between Via and fixed route services, possible options for reduced services and what these would look like versus wholesale route eliminations. Bernstein said that the district has a number of other funding sources it can turn to if state resources are reduced, including the possibility of a transportation sales tax.

Both Bernstein and Torney said the district’s plan in making route changes was to help counter potential funding shortfalls by increasing revenue through more ridership. The next step in the district’s Short-Range Transit Plan process is to bring back the input received county-wide to the district’s board to consider adoption of service recommendations, something hoped to take place later this year.

The district would then proceed with implementing the adopted service changes in late 2026/early 2027.