There is much to celebrate when it comes to the history and the near future of regional transportation, especially public transit. An opportunity to do just that will be available during September, which is traditionally Transit Month in the San Francisco Bay Area. Transit Month events include region-wide ride contests and prizes, a Rider First Awards Ceremony, and other transit-themed regional activities. The nonprofit San Francisco Transit Riders encourages public transit users to join the organization and its nonprofit partner, Seamless Bay Area, “in celebrating the buses, trains, and people that make the wonderful transit system we all know and ride.”

In the mid-19th century, Bay Area travelers did not have as much to celebrate when it came to transit. The available transportation was not especially comfortable or speedy. The California Stage Company operated a “daily line of Concord Coaches through in nine hours” between Stockton and San Francisco, according to an advertisement in the Daily Alta California of July 26, 1854. “Leaving Stockton at 7 o’clock, A.M., via French Camp, Slocum’s Ferry, Livermore’s Rancho, San Antonio and Clinton to Oakland, where passengers will take the Ferry Boat and arrive in San Francisco at 5 o’clock, P.M.”

In that era, some well-heeled residents owned buggies and kept horses to pull passengers to their destination. That was an improvement over walking, but came with additional hazards. Newspapers of the day reported on injuries and even death to carriage riders who had fallen out of their vehicles. Buggies and horses were also subject to theft. Ferries were an option for some, depending on where they lived. Horse-drawn wagons were also popular in the pre-automotive era. Still, the arrival of the railroad, in the late 1860s, was a huge boon to California and the region. So was the arrival of gas-powered vehicles. Whatever its form, the availability of transportation has created a strong foundation for the area’s economy.

Vital to Growth

“Whether by horse and carriage, train, boat, automobile, or even airplane, transportation was vital to California’s growth and success from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries,” according to Julia Brashares and Kara O'Keefe Fos, who curated the Transportation in California History exhibition at the University of California in 2011. That remains true today for both California and the Tri-Valley region.

Hacienda businesses have always benefited from immediate access to two major Interstate freeways, I-580 and I-680, and many other transportation options. Because of Hacienda's location in Alameda County, at the center of the Bay Area, they also have access to one of the most strategic trade locations in the world, according to the Alameda County Transportation Commission. The county's connections to national and international markets make it a natural hub for goods movement throughout the Bay Area and the surrounding Northern California mega region. Alameda County provides most of the critical goods movement infrastructure that the rest of the region relies upon, according to the agency. That infrastructure includes the Port of Oakland and the Oakland International Airport, an extensive network of interstate freeways and arterial roads, and two major Class I railroads.

There is also a wealth of public transportation available in the Tri-Valley. They include BART trains, commuter rail, buses, vanpools, and paratransit services. Importantly, public transit is an important tool in fighting climate change. “Public transport is one of the best, most cost-effective solutions available to address today’s climate and development challenges,” according to the World Resources Institute, which says that “buses and trains can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to two-thirds per passenger” compared to private vehicles.

Additional benefits are realized from transit as well. The American Public Transportation Association has established some of the economic wins created by public transportation. ?They include generating $5 in economic returns for every $1 invested in public transportation. Moreover, “every $1 billion invested in public transportation supports and creates approximately 50,000 jobs,” association officials say, and “an estimated $39 billion of public transit expenditures flow into the private sector.” In one study, home values were up to 24% higher near public transportation than in other areas.

Transportation Key to Future

Transit is a vital amenity for the region, and Hacienda itself is rich with public transit connections thanks to its central Tri-Valley location. Commuters and residents have access to the BART train station at Hacienda; the Wheels bus system, run by the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA); and through Wheels connections access to the Altamont Commuter Express train and Contra Costa’s County Connection bus system. These options allow commuters from throughout the Bay Area and some locations in the Central Valley to trade their cars for a bus or train ride from and to Hacienda across the greater Bay Area. If mass transit is not practical or convenient, there are also many carpool and vanpool opportunities available, as well as a variety of new rideshare services that have evolved over the last several years that include company-specific commute alternatives.

The pioneering Wheels ECO Pass program developed by Hacienda and LAVTA 35 years ago gives eligible tenants and residents free Wheels passes good for use throughout the system all year, and at any time. Hacienda employees and residents have taken more than six million Wheels trips since the program began. The Wheels ECO Pass program “is unique to the Tri-Valley,” according to LAVTA Executive Director Christy Wegener. “It's a great model. We need to make it easy for people to take transit. For employers, this is just a great offering for their employees, and Hacienda has been a great partner.”

Commuters and residents are expected to have access to two key rail stations within Hacienda in the near future after the first Valley Link station is built next to BART. The 22-mile initial operating phase between the Hacienda BART station and the Mountain House Community station, including the Isabel and South Front Road stations in Livermore, is targeted for construction in 2025. Officials with the Tri-Valley - San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, which oversees the Valley Link project, notes that it will “close a critical gap in the statewide rail system with a 42-mile, seven-station rail connection between the Hacienda BART station and the North Lathrop Altamont Corridor Express station with all day service on BART frequencies during peak periods.”

Agency officials estimate that Valley Link will carry 33,000 daily riders by 2040. “Valley Link would remove tens of thousands of cars off Interstates 580 and 205 and connect nearly 500 miles of passenger rail with more than 130 stations in the Northern California Megaregion – removing up to 42,650 metrics tons of greenhouse gas emissions, creating 22,000 jobs, and supporting national goods movement by reducing heavy truck conflicts with cars on Interstates 580 and 205 that serve as life lines between the Port of Oakland and both domestic and international markets.”

If you commute to Hacienda by private car, it is simple to try out other options. The Wheels ECO Pass program makes it easy for qualified employees and residents to try the bus system at no charge. Through Hacienda, you can also get a free ride on the ACE commuter rail system, BART system, and County Connection. A free ride is also available from Hacienda for the Max Express bus from Modesto to Hacienda and the San Joaquin Regional Transit District bus between San Joaquin County and Hacienda. Using public transit is less expensive for commuting and better for the planet. Consider a trial trip to see if public transit may work for your commute.

For more information about Transit Month and San Francisco Transit Riders, please visit www.sftransitriders.org/transitmonth.

For more information about the Valley Link project, please visit www.valleylinkrail.com.

For more information about the Wheels ECO Pass program and Hacienda Commute Solutions, please visit www.hacienda.org/amenities/employees-residents/commute-solutions.