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Public comment favors coverage over frequency; SolTrans to revise COA concepts for Routes 4, 5, 8, blue and green lines
Summary
After a public comment period that generated 765 submissions, SolTrans staff reported heavy negative feedback on proposed eliminations and realignments for several local routes and Solano Express lines; the board directed staff to revise concepts and return in September.
SolTrans staff presented a summary of public feedback on the agency’s draft Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) and the board gave direction to rework concepts for several local and express routes after the public comment period returned significant negative sentiment on coverage losses.
Mandy Menardshaw, who presented the summary to the board, said the agency received 765 comments in the outreach period and 456 completed surveys. The feedback disproportionately concerned Solano Express lines (465 comments) and included extensive negative responses to proposed changes to Routes 4, 5 and 8 and to the blue and green Solano Express concepts.
“We received 765 comments in all... the majority of the feedback that we received was 51% related to the Solano Express lines and 34% related to the local service,” Menardshaw said. She walked the board through counts and recurring themes: coverage and access to jobs, schools and health care were the most frequent concerns for local routes proposed for elimination; Davis and Walnut Creek routing produced the bulk of blue‑line comments.
Key counts reported by staff: - Route 4: 50 negative comments, main concerns loss of coverage to hospitals and social services and increased walking distance; - Route 5: 41 negative comments, concerns over school and neighborhood access; - Route 8: 92 negative comments, many citing Glen Cove and Benicia Road coverage and seniors/ADA riders; - Blue line (Solano Express): 141 negative comments and 93 positive/neutral, with many concerns focused on loss of service to Davis and changes to alignment; - Green line proposal (merge with Red): 149 negative comments and 22 positive comments, many commenters feared longer travel times through Vallejo.
Menardshaw told the board that some commenters misunderstood concepts—early objections assumed routes were being eliminated with no replacement—but staff also reported recurring themes of riders prioritizing coverage over added frequency or later service hours.
Board members said the survey results and raw comments should be shared in stakeholder briefings, and some members suggested staff prepare costed options (cost per rider, cost per line) to help STA and partner agencies evaluate tradeoffs. Chair Scott and other members noted the analysis is driven by a fiscal constraint and a need to weigh coverage versus frequency.
Action: The board voted unanimously to direct staff to refine the COA concepts, prioritize the identified routes and lines, and return with revised concepts and cost information in September for further review and for a July presentation to the STA board regarding Solano Express funding.
Ending: Staff will incorporate the public feedback, prepare alternative concepts and cost estimates (including potential express variants and coverage protections), and present revised materials at the September board meeting.
