Following on posts about a discontinued light rail line in San Jose (VTA discontinued light rail line) and a close look at SacRT Green Line (the future of SacRT Green Line), we are now proposing what we have suggested before (Green Line and Route 11), an enhancement of SacRT bus Route 11 service to take the place of the Green Line.

Route 11 runs seven days a week on a 45-minute frequency, but with a poor span of service. It along with Route 13, also a low frequency route, are the only buses that serve North Natomas, and it along with Route 13 and Route 86 are the only service to South Natomas. North Natomas is a transit desert, and South Natomas close to a transit desert. Natomas deserves better. STAR feels that an enhanced Route 11 is the first step to better transit in Natomas.

The schedule for Route 11 before the recent change was: weekdays nb (6:37 AM to 8:37 PM), weekdays sb (6:06 AM to 8:02 PM), Saturday nb (6:55 AM to 8:40 PM), Saturday sb (7:10 AM to 8:04 PM), Sunday nb (6:55 AM to 8:35 PM) and Sunday sb (7:10 AM to 8:01 PM). Apparently SacRT no longer makes schedules in a condensed printable format for most routes. With the temporary change implemented 2025-06-15 (this is a condensed printable schedule), Saturday and Sunday is unchanged, but weekdays southbound has a slightly longer span of service: 5:36 AM to 8:49 PM.

STAR would like to see enhanced service on Route 11. Initially, it would just be weekdays, and have 30-minute service during the main part of the day. The span of service should be 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM, similar to the light rail span of service, with perhaps reduced service after 7:00 PM. Providing this service would cost a lot more than the existing service. Using the money formerly dedicated to the Green Line would be part of the funding.

It has been noted that the southern part of Route 11, south of downtown, has lower ridership than the northern part. Some have suggested that the southern part of the route be dropped, ending instead either downtown or at Broadway. This would reduce service in Land Park, which is otherwise only served by bus commuter routes. However, three light rail stations, Broadway, 4th Ave/Wayne Holtgren, and City College, are not far away. STAR does not have a position on dropping the southern portion, but it should be considered.

The maps below provide some detail. In the first map (pdf), of the entire Route 11, it can be seen that all of the 7th Street and 8th Street light rail stations are also on Route 11, as well as 7th & Richards/Township 9 station, and the future Railyards station. Archives Plaza and 13th St are not, but those are served by both Gold Line and Blue Line trains.

The second map (pdf) zeroes in on the downtown, railyards, and river district areas. Remember, Route 11 and Green Line are co-incident through the area shown on this map.

Changes such as these will likely be considered in the Short Range Transit Plan portion of the Comprehensive Operational Analysis. However, given that the Green Line is shut down, now is the time to consider replacing the Green Line with an enhanced Route 11 bus service.

• Comprehensive Operational Analysis