Dakota McGranahan

SMART train officials direct passengers to their designated trains.

If you are planning to take the SMART train to or from the main Santa Rosa Junior College campus be prepared to spend some money and do some walking and waiting.

It’s a little too early to tell if the SMART train is actually working out for SRJC students but a look into what is being offered reveals some short coming for Santa Rosa Junior College students. The new 50-series routes, added by the Sonoma County Transit specifically for Santa Rosa Junior College students, with connections to SMART stations, have serious limitations.

According to the SMART train and Sonoma County Transit bus schedules, students wishing to use the SMART train to get to the SRJC main campus have only one opportunity to get to the Santa Rosa campus in the morning and one opportunity to leave in the evening.

The morning commute for SRJC students would look like this: Travelling in from the south, you would board Train #19 at the station nearest you. That train would get you to the Sonoma County Transit bus stop at Guerneville Road and Coffee Lane by 8:00 am. If you are coming in from the north, board Train #6 at the nearest station to you to get to the Sonoma County Transit bus stop at Guerneville Road and Coffee Lane by 8:00 am. From that bus stop, weather you came from the north or the south, take Sonoma County Transit Bus #57 to the Mendocino Avenue bus stop in front of the JC’s main campus at around 8:25 a.m.

The afternoon commute for SRJC students would look like this: Be at the Mendocino Avenue bus stop in front of the SRJC’s main campus by 4:55 p.m. and board bus 57. The bus will arrive at the bus stop on Guerneville Road at Coffee Lane at 5:15 p.m. From there you cross the street to the train station. Traveling north, board the Train #29, which departs at 5:59 p.m. If traveling south board Train #14, which departs at 5:26 p.m.

Hugh Campbell, who rides the train from Novato, said “It’s kind of expensive. I can see how it might be feasible for commuters, especially if the cost of the transportation is part of their benefit package.” Scott Parkhurst who also lives in Novato said, “I wanted to take my bike and ride it to Larkspur and then take the ferry into The City, but it’s too expensive.”

According to the SMART website “Discount fares and passes are available for youth (5-18), seniors (65 and over) and passengers with disabilities.” However, it appears there aren’t any discounts specifically for students.