Nationally, work commutes are down to only 15% of all trips. The other 85% are to other destinations and for other purposes. We don’t know if that statistic is true of the Sacramento region, but we will search for an answer, and we don’t know if it is true of transit, which is unlikely to have a ready answer.

Why is this important? The light rail system was entirely designed around work commutes, bringing workers from the suburbs to downtown. But downtown is now only one of four major employment centers, with Roseville, Folsom and Rancho Cordova now having significant jobs. The bus system is largely hung on the framework of light rail, with light rail stations serving as most of the transit hubs in the county. This makes sense, as many trips are multi-modal, with light rail and bus, as well as walking, bicycling, and Capital Corridor.

Our Action Team member Ben has suggested that rethinking destinations and connection/transfer locations should be considered as part of the SacRT Forward process. The current system is organized around traditional commutes, but does not well serve other trip purposes such as shopping (for example, Arden Fair Mall is not well served by bus routes), higher education (the four Los Rios community college campuses and satellite campuses, and Sac State), and the employment centers that have developed in new locations.

It may be that reducing the number of bus connections at light rail stations, and increasing the number at other destinations, would better serve riders and increase ridership. This is one of the issues that STAR will consider in our deep dive into SacRT Forward at our November 3 meeting.

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