Santa Rosa CityBus : Young people ride for free

Young people can ride Santa Rosa CityBus for free, through the Unlimited Rides (UR Free) pilot program, which operates through Dec. 31, 2022.

SRJC: Free bus-rides with valid student I.D.

Image credit: SRJC Student Affairs Office

This spring I am enrolled in a class at Santa Rosa Junior College. And one of the perks of being an SRJC student is that I can ride the bus for free.

When I board the bus, I show the driver my student photo-I.D. with a validation sticker for the current semester. SRJC has partnerships with Sonoma County Transit, Santa Rosa CityBus and with Petaluma Transit to allow SRJC students to ride free. For more information: Transportation on the SRJC website.

Geocaching expedition through S.F.’s Golden Gate Park

Caught Golden Gate Transit​’s Route 101 down to San Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 29, for an adventure in geocaching. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency​’s Routes 28 and 5 brought us out to Ocean Beach, and we then made our way through S.F.’s Golden Gate Park​, hunting for caches as we went. Our final geocaching stop for the day was outside the de Young Museum​, near its “Pool of Enchantment.” Cool, overcast weather made a great day for traveling through Golden Gate Park on-foot. We’re looking forward to further geocaching expeditions aboard the area’s public transit.

Trackable geocaching tokens

CityBus pass and PathTags token

Bought a couple of all-day CityBus passes, and headed out for geocaching adventure. First stop, “Good Grief Sparky!,” which requires the user to visit a Santa Rosa landmark — where, using information we obtained on-site, we were able to obtain the coordinates we needed to locate a hidden cache.

Geocaching

Jonathan and I have embarked on an outdoor treasure-hunting adventure! Geocaching involves using GPS to locate a hidden object.

With so many phones now equipped with GPS, participation can be as simple as downloading a free app and creating an account.

Caches come in a range of sizes, and shapes. This one had an appealing “hand-crafted” look, sort of a paper-collage effect.

The caches generally include a paper “log” for finders to write their names, but some of them also carry little “prizes” and even trackable tokens. If you take a prize from the Geocache, it’s nice to leave something too, for the next finder who comes along.

Jonathan and I went around to some local thrift stores and assembled a “stash” of trinkets, less than $1 each. Later, we might also purchase tokens from the Geocaching store.

I especially like combining Geocache with a ride via public transit or a trip on-foot or by bicycling. Yesterday, we caught Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit from downtown Santa Rosa. We disembarked in Cotati, and then used our apps to look for nearby caches.

Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450, essential for daily commute

For my daily commute as a non-motorist, I rely on the Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450. This roomy, but not overly-large, pack is suitable to my small frame. It’ll hold my lunch, it’ll hold my reading glasses and maybe a book or two. It has water-bottle pockets on each side of the pack to hold my reusable bottle.

Once at work, if I need to travel with a laptop to another part of campus, the bag ensures that I can carry it hands-free, without risk of dropping the laptop.

For those occasions when I find myself part of a pressed-in crowd, the pack has several security features that make it resistant to theft. There’s wire mesh embedded in the fabric and wire-reinforcement in the straps. And security clips make it more difficult for a thief to un-zip the bag's pockets and reach inside.

Possibly best of all, during most occasions of use, the pack is comfortable to wear. The straps have an ergonomic cut to them, molded to the neck and shoulders. I’d have liked the bag to include a sternum strap to help with heavier loads, but for the typical load I carry during commutes, the bag lets me travel in comfort.

Fortunately, it was easy to add a removable sternum strap. I also have a reflective and waterproof backpack cover to keep pack contents dry, as well as to provide greater visibility when I wear the pack while traveling by bicycle.

Bicycle-themed collage art

Here’s a collage from greeting-card images and from informational brochures gathered during an Earth Day celebration in Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square. The background is a route map for Santa Rosa City Bus.

San Francisco via train, bus, and ferry

Took a library-themed day trip to San Francisco this week, to celebrate my birthday. Rode aboard Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit to the San Rafael Transit Center, then caught Golden Gate Transit’s “Route 31” free shuttle to the Golden Gate Ferry.

Once in SF, we walked to the closest branch of the San Francisco Public Library, which offers a free library card to any California resident.

Our trip wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to Readers Bookstore Fort Mason, operated by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library; with book-laden packs we then made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge Visitors Center, where we caught Golden Gate Transit’s “Route 101X” back to downtown Santa Rosa.

(Image depicts a view of Golden Gate Bridge from the Batteries to Bluffs Trail along the San Francisco shoreline.)

‘Microtransit,’ exploration of on-demand public transit

On his professional blog, public transit consultant Jarrett Walker poses an interesting question: Is “Microtransit” an actual new idea?

‘Walk and Roll’ to school today

Here's a friendly reminder of "Walk and Roll" each Wednesday at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. If you haven't already, perhaps you'd give it a try?

The intention behind "Walk and Roll" is to promote alternatives to students commuting to school by car, which is why, every Wednesday, we close the gates to the school parking lot.

(Our school is located just a couple blocks away from bus stops on Mendocino Avenue -- a main corridor both for Santa Rosa CityBus and Sonoma County Transit. There are also places to park your vehicle just a couple blocks away, if you have a younger child or want to ease into the idea of not simply driving your child to school.)

With fewer cars pulling in and out of the driveway, safety is enhanced for those students (and adults) who want to travel to-and-from using "person-powered" transportation.

We admit after-school programs' vans, and people with disabilities who have DMV placards. But we ask that other motorists park safely and legally on the street.

Living in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Our first weekend in our new apartment in Santa Rosa, Calif.! Having secured a home in the same community where I work and where we like to hang out, we really enjoy our recovered ability to walk, ride our bikes, and take public transit.

Sacramento Regional Transit’s ‘Gold Line’

Mid-October found my family in the Sacramento area; we settled here to escape fires in Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino counties.

While here, we rode the “Gold Line” light-rail, Sacramento Regional Transit District​.

Having previewed passenger-rail in my home community only a few months earlier (aboard Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit​), I was intrigued to make use of a mature passenger-rail system.

My impression of Sacramento Regional Transit is that it is extremely well-coordinated between light-rail and buses; we made connections within minutes between riding a train or bus.

Additionally, I was impressed by very affordable prices: $2.75 for basic adult fare or $7 for a day-long pass aboard Sacramento Regional Transit.

Calistoga-Santa Rosa bus would relieve road congestion

Petrified Forest Road, approaching Highway 128

Among thousands of motorists who travel each day between Calistoga and Santa Rosa, surely at least some would rather travel by bus than endure stop-and-go, backed-up traffic. I really want to see a bus route developed, either by Sonoma County Transit, by VINE Transit in Napa County or perhaps a joint-powers project.

A bus route between Calistoga and Santa Rosa would make sense for discerning motorists, because how much more enjoyable would it be to relax on a bus, mini-bus or coach? Maybe catch up on reading, enjoy an audio-book or browse news via onboard Wi-Fi. Viewing stalled cars in multiple directions, argues for at least SOME demand.

Aboard SMART Train during preview ride

At Santa Rosa North Station

“Easy to use,” was the pronouncement by one cyclist, securing his bicycle during a preview ride aboard SMART Train. As a cyclist I’d wanted to observe these conditions for myself after reading a review by another SMART Train rider. ​

SMART Train: Blogger describes bike-transport concerns

After a recent preview ride aboard Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit: passenger Anet Dunne raises concerns about the usability of onboard bicycle storage.
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Preview rides aboard SMART Train

Source of image: Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit on Facebook

If it works out with our schedules, I hope that Jonathan and I can take a preview ride during coming weeks aboard Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit. Current emphasis for the holiday is bringing people down to attend the Marin County Fair, then returning them after the fireworks — but I simply look forward to straightforward round-trips that let us preview this new passenger rail system in California’s North Bay.

SMART works out train scheduling

From November 2016: SMART test-run in Santa Rosa, Calif.

My email in-box is filled with regular updates as the date draws nearer when Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will be open to public ridership.

Napa VINE proposes dropping Route 25 to Sonoma

Source of image: Vine Transit on Facebook

Talk about bad to worse: With public transportation non-existent between Calistoga and Santa Rosa, the Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) is looking at ending its intercity bus service to Sonoma.

Calistoga and Santa Rosa: We need bus connection

Source of image: County of Sonoma

As a public-transportation advocate, newly returned to the area after living out-of-state, I want to advocate for commuter public-transit between Santa Rosa and Calistoga. This afternoon, I wrote to trustees for the Sonoma County and Napa Valley Transportation Authorities (SCTA and NVTA).

Rogue Commute Challenge: Will Ashland schools win again?

Image credit: Rogue Commute Challenge

In Ashland School District (ASD), the Health Promotions Committee is getting ready for the Rogue Commute Challenge, a competition among teams to log the most miles by bicycling, walking, carpooling, etc. -- any trip taken by not driving a car alone.