SacRT successfully navigated through the pandemic by being fiscally responsible with our federal COVID-19 relief funds and other revenue sources. And unlike many other agencies that had to use most of their federal COVID-19 relief funds for operations, depleting the funds early, we were able to extend the use of relief funding and focus on long-delayed capital needs such as state of good repair projects. More recently, SB125 provided another relief package for California transit agencies, including SacRT.

As required by SB125 and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), who is responsible for allocating the SB125 funding, SacRT has developed a long-term action plan for strong fiscal sustainability, including optimizing business processes, maximizing efficiencies, reviewing less efficient ridership services, and identifying opportunities for cost savings.

While SacRT has taken great pride in being a trendsetter in the transit industry over the years, implementing innovative new transit services to boost mobility in the Sacramento region, we must also be good stewards of public funds. SmaRT Ride was implemented as a pilot program in 2018, with a one-time lump sum grant of $14 million from Measure A’s Neighborhood Shuttle program.

Unfortunately, the annual funding from the grant program is only $800,000. When compared to SmaRT Ride’s annual operating costs of $8.4 million, it’s clear that the service is too expensive to continue to operate. In addition, SmaRT Ride’s operating cost per passenger is over $47, almost five times more than our fixed-route bus system, while carrying less than 1% of overall system ridership. The decision to transition the service follows a comprehensive assessment of SmaRT Ride’s service performance and financial impact.

If you are not eligible to ride SacRT Flex, we encourage you to look into bus and light rail options at  sacrt.com/services or call 916-321-BUSS (2877).