E-Tran has been the designated public transportation system in Elk Grove since the mid-2000s, providing city residents and visitors with transportation options to get around the city.
While Elk Grove residents and frequent travelers in the city are grateful for the presence of E-Tran, some note that public transportation is rarely used.
The service has always been on an hourly basis during the week, with adjusted opening hours on Saturdays and no service on Sundays and some public holidays.
Alsester Coleman is a Sacramento woman who works in Elk Grove during the week.
“I would like to work weekends, but it’s hard because of the bus system,” Coleman said. “I live in Sacramento. So when I come here, it takes all day to get home. I take care of a wife here and I can’t take care of her on the weekends because (E-Tran) only runs until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and not on Sundays.”
Coleman was sitting on a bench at a bus stop near Bond Road as she waited for her bus, unsure which one to take because she had forgotten her phone at home.
She had no idea what time the bus would leave or whether she had missed her bus.
“I get stuck sometimes because it only comes once an hour and it’s just really, if you miss it you’re screwed. If you miss the last one (of the day) you’re really screwed,” Coleman said. “So I’m basically sitting here so I can see if there’s a bus coming from this direction, if there’s a bus going around this corner, if there’s a bus coming from this direction?”
Her best option was to find a bus stop where she could see the E-Tran buses from different angles and see which direction they were going.
“When you don’t have a phone and you’re taking the bus, all you have is your eyes. So I use them,” Coleman said as she watched a bus go by. “I’m just looking. I just saw one go around the corner. So I have a feeling this one’s coming after me.”
Coleman suggested that “more buses should run, more often, including longer weekend service.”
“It’s disappointing,” she said. “I would really look forward to the time when they work on the weekends, you know, like Sacramento does.”
Under new contract
Sacramento Regional Transit spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said SacRT began operating in Elk Grove in July 2019 under a service contract with E-Tran.
According to a 2019 SacRT press release announcing the addition of E-Tran, the transit agency added on-demand curb-to-curb shuttle service primarily between Waterman Road and Grant Line Road, with additional coverage in the Vineyard area, north of Calvine Road, as far north as Florin Road, from Elk Grove-Florin Road to Bradshaw Road, and as far north as Gerber Road, between Bradshaw Road and Excelsior Road.
Two years later, in July 2021, E-Tran services were put into service and officially became part of the SacRT network.
“As part of the agreement, service levels will be maintained or improved,” Gonzalez said. “We are looking at potential service changes for Elk Grove in January 2025, but there is nothing to announce at this time. As we continue to make service changes, we will seek public feedback and share potential changes with riders and community members before the changes go into effect.”
Gonzalez said commuters have not filed complaints directly with SacRT about Elk Grove’s bus service levels. However, she said SacRT is considering adjusting some commuter routes in Elk Grove to better serve a new state office location in downtown Sacramento.
She said that those plans are not yet in place.
Currently, bus riders can take the commuter bus from Elk Grove to a stop in downtown Sacramento and then transfer to a Green Line light rail train to the Seventh and Richards-Township 9 station, which is directly across from the new statehouse, Gonzalez said.
“We are also considering conducting a traveler survey to gain more information about service needs prior to route changes as part of an upcoming comprehensive operational analysis,” she said.
‘Never been a problem’
Kalea Woodard, 19, is an Elk Grove resident who attends afternoon classes at Cosumnes River College, where she studies chemistry. She travels with E-Tran.
“It’s super convenient. It takes me to school and back home. It’s easy. I’ve never had any problems or anything,” Woodard said. “I didn’t take the bus to school until last semester. So (since) spring. (The bus schedule) works out really well with my classes and everything. So I get on the next bus, my class starts right after that, and I come home.”
Woodard describes herself as a punctual person. She doesn’t worry about missing the bus or having to wait an hour for the next one.
“I’ve never missed the bus to school, so it’s never been a problem,” she said. “It’s just when I get home and I don’t mind. I just chill out here until then. I’ve never had a problem with that.”
As part of SacRT’s $10 million RydeFree program, E-Tran youth (grades 1-12) can travel for free throughout the school year by purchasing a valid RydeFreeRT card, available at public libraries.
Suggestions from residents
Maria Sadiqi, 22, has lived in Elk Grove for two years after moving to California from Afghanistan. She works to save money and get her papers to go to school.
Sadiqi has been adapting to bus services to travel to and from work over the past month.
“I think it’s really good. I really like it. I didn’t take the bus before, but now I do,” Sadiqi said. “I didn’t know where to go on every bus, so I learned.”
Sadiqi said she wasn’t used to bus stops or stations, but now that she is, she believes there should be a bus stop everywhere.
She primarily uses E-Tran services to commute to and from her job in Sacramento. Her commute, even one way, requires three bus transfers and can take up to two hours.
“It’s really far for me,” Sadiqi said. “So my work time starts at 9:30. So I wake up at 6:30 to get ready. Then I have to leave around 7:30 or something to catch the bus. … I have to go somewhere and catch that bus, and then go there and catch that bus, which is another 5 to 10 minutes walk.”
Even if she gets to the bus stop on time or on time, there is a chance she will be late for work if the bus is delayed.
Sadiqi suggested that in Elk Grove, like in Sacramento, more buses be added in case of delays and to prevent people from being late.
“I just want to get on the bus on time so I can get to work on time,” Sadiqi said. “I think there should be a bus every 10 minutes because after 30 minutes it’s too late for anyone to go anywhere.”
