Safety first means better customer service. The SamTrans bus system has built a lasting impression on this community and on the transportation industry since its inception 30 years ago. It is often cited as a benchmark for safety and reliability and in 2004 received a Best Practices citation from the American Public Transportation Association Safety Auditors for its training programs.

SamTrans focuses on initial and ongoing training for bus operators and maintenance workers. Our state-of-the-art bus simulator uses technology to give our operators real-time training scenarios.

A 10-week training program gets new operators off to the right start. Operators must get a 100 percent passing score on the final test before taking to the road.

Last year, district operators drove an average of more than 113,000 miles between preventable accidents and maintenance employees had only two injuries in more than 136,000 hours worked.

We’re not only safe, we’re reliable, too. The Advanced Communications System identifies early and late buses, making it easier to avoid bunching and to spread out passenger loads on busy mainlines. It’s also helping to increase on-time performance and reduce missed schedules. These improvements translate into an impressive 99.9 percent reliability rate and making a great impression on our riders.

Fast Fact: SamTrans installed 25 new transit tubes—rotating pole-mounted route information with Braille indicators to provide easy access to information for all riders, including the visually impaired and wheelchair users.