The long-awaited Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) extension to the Town of Windsor started operations in late

 May 2025.  This three-mile northward extension was held up for years by a lawsuit and appeals regarding the funding source.  Once service started, Windsor rapidly achieved the fifth highest weekday and fourth highest weekend ridership of SMART’s 14 stations.

SMART’s accomplishments in recent years include being the first Bay Area transit system to achieve pre-pandemic ridership levels after the 2020 pandemic.  Ridership for FY24-25 exceeded 1.1 million with average weekday ridership over 4,500 in June 2025.  For comparison, the Coaster serving San Diego (California’s second largest city), weekday ridership runs about 2,400.  San Diego County’s population exceeds 3 million while Marin and Sonoma Counties’ combined population is about 750,000.

One of the few shortcomings of SMART is its poor connection with other transit systems.  SMART is not alone as this is a common problem with transit operations throughout the state.  SMART recognizes the issue and is part of the Marin-Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service (MASCOTS) Plan.  MASCOTS consists of nine entities, either transit operators or government transportation commissions associated with the two North Bay counties.  MASCOTS makes a point that this is not a study, but a plan that will be implemented.  The goal is to work as if one agency to grow ridership, increase connections, and reduce duplicate services.  SMART will become the primary north-south operation with other operators providing timed connections with SMART trains.  Plan implementation is targeted for early 2026.  MASCOTS could become a model for other cities and counties to follow.  The two North Bay counties account for less than 2% of California’s large population but are leading the way on making public transportation a viable choice.