Tracks 2 Parking Yes Platforms in use 2 | Structure type at grade Opened 1991 | |
 | ||
Location 3rd Street and Hetherton Street
San Rafael, California Train operators Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (2017) Bus operators Golden Gate Transit
Marin Transit
Marin Airporter
Sonoma County Transit
Greyhound Bus Lines Address San Rafael, CA 94901, United States Similar El Cerrito del Norte station, Larkspur Landing, Santa Rosa–Railroad Square, San Francisco State Uni, Tasman | ||
Congressman jared huffman talks about transportation funding at san rafael transit center
The San Rafael Transportation Center in San Rafael, California, also called the C. Paul Bettini Transportation Center, is the main passenger transit terminal for Marin County. From here, passengers can make transfers throughout Marin County, to San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Sonoma Counties. It is also an important station for buses serving San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and the rest of the country. The Transit Center is planned to be moved in the coming years as Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit begins operations and occupies several platforms.
Contents
Description
The original San Rafael railway depot that served the Northwestern Pacific Railroad was located at what is now a cafe north of the station. As rail use fell into decline and was discontinued in the mid 20th century, busses came to prominence with the expansion of the road and highway system. The current transportation center was constructed in 1991.
The San Rafael Transit Center hosts to a number of bus agencies, including:
In addition to bus services, there is a double-track railway and two side platform that were built as part of the transit center in anticipation of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit service. Commuter trains arrived in Santa Rosa for testing in March 2016 after a fifty seven-year absence of such services. Rail operations have significantly disrupted service to bus stop locations.
Location
The San Rafael Transit Center is located at the corner of 3rd and Hetherton Streets, bounded by Tamalpais Avenue to the west and 2nd Street to the south. Its proximity to Downtown San Rafael and U.S. Highway 101 makes the SRTC an important transfer point for services within Marin County and beyond, aside from being the main hub for Golden Gate Transit services.
Transfers and Features
With most of Marin Transit's and many of Golden Gate Transit's routes meeting at the San Rafael Transit Center, it provides a convenient transfer point for passengers from San Rafael going towards the rest of Marin County and throughout the Bay Area. Along with that, being the main stop for Greyhound for the county, SRTC provides connections for its passengers from within Marin County to intra- and inter-regional bus service. And being one of the main stops of two Airport Bus companies (namely Marin Airporter and Sonoma County Airport Express), it allows passengers to travel to either San Francisco International Airport or Oakland International Airport without the need of driving.
Routes Starting and Ending at SRTC
Note: † - Select Route 259 trips originate as Route 251 (San Marin-Ignacio)
Routes Stopping at San Rafael Transit Center
Note: Golden Gate buses may board at a different side of the same platform.
Route 101, Golden Gate Transit's limited-stop service, serves the San Rafael Transit Center complementing the existing Route 80 on weekdays (except holidays) and Saturdays. For a description of this service, click here. Route 80 continues to serve the SRTC weeknights, weekends, and holidays when the Route 101 does not operate.
Features
The San Rafael Transit Center has the following amenities for its passengers:
Near the Transit Center are full-service restaurants, especially along Fourth Street (Downtown San Rafael) and Second Street, grocery stores, and other businesses. Also nearby are three park-and-ride lots within walking distance of the SRTC, all located under the Highway 101 overpass, that allow commuter parking.