Accurate status for buses?

[BCL]

I'm supposed to be picking up a friend arriving by Amtrak California bus (4869). I realize that train status is pretty accurate in real time since trains are tracked, but I haven't really checked with buses. I figure that unless the bus is really late, it should be early, but I'm not sure how early.

Correction - I looked up the schedule and there doesn't seem to be any pickup on that bus after Salinas. I suppose they'll just drop off as fast as possible after they get to San Jose. Still seems kind of convoluted stopping in San Francisco before getting to Emeryville and Oakland.

 

[roadman3313]

It all depends. Generally the bus status will be recorded at Staffed stations for that route. At a minimum you should at least have a status for Santa Barbara (SBA) and San Luis Obispo (SLO) although that isn't always 100%. During the holidays it is a bit different as well as certain trips use multiple buses. For example, yesterday (11/25) if you look at bus 4763 from Santa Barbara there were actually two buses operating in that slot. One operated the normal 4763 route serving all the stops. The other operated as an Express from Santa Barbara to San Jose (transfer point to Capitol Corridor). Another good example is bus 4761 from yesterday. If you look at SNS to SJC it says the bus left Salinas at 5:05pm, 1 hr. 10 min. late and arrived in San Jose at 5:15pm, 10 min. late. Now we know Salinas to San Jose is much more than a 10 min. drive (generally at least an hour or so), however that trip also used multiple buses from San Luis Obispo. Both left at 2:00pm, 55 minutes late. The bus operating the regular 4761 making all stops continued operating late and missed the train connection. The Express trip to San Jose made up the time and made the Capitol Corridor train connection (at 5:50pm in San Jose).

Long story short, the status can be hit and miss, however on those connections if the agent puts in a time for Salinas that will be your best indication. The driver also walks into the station at San Jose as well so there will be a time for San Jose about 75% of the time. If there are no passengers for San Francisco the bus will usually take 880 to EMY or OKJ instead of 280 or 101 (depends on driver) to SFC. The buses park at the Oakland station until a new driver comes and the original drivers go to a local hotel until the next trip south the next day.

 

[roadman3313]

I also forgot to ask... the regular trip number is 4769. If they are ticketed for 4869 they may have split up the buses. For the peak holiday travel days most trips use at least 2 buses with the overnight trip (4768) departing the Bay Area Wednesday, arriving into Santa Barbara Thursday morning using 4 buses (instead of 1).

General rule of thumb for the northbound buses... the bus will be late if the Surfliner it connects from was late (unless multiple buses were used). The bus will be late if there was any traffic on 101 (particularly on Sundays) or between San Jose and San Francisco. The bus will be late if it is busy extra busy. The Capitol Corridor train connection will not wait for the bus in San Jose unless it is the last train and even in that case the train may not wait for the bus until Oakland with others being taxied. The connection is guaranteed to a Capitol Corridor train that day, not necessarily the scheduled connecting train or at the scheduled connecting location.

 

[BCL]

It's only train-bus northbound. Going back it's going to be train-bus-train and I'm a little bit worried that they might have issues with the last bus-train transfer.

Apparently Surfliner 769 is late right about now but making up time. However, I do get that the bus is a dedicated connection for the Surfliner and will wait for the train. Southbound is another issue, but I think they'll know what to do. If not, they'll be in LA and can probably take a taxi if there are no other options.

 

[BCL]

I'm guessing the bus left Santa Barbara by now, but there's no status other than the scheduled times. I guess I'll just have to wait around that time and check and see if something changed.

 

[roadman3313]

Looks like it was a consistent 40 minutes down. That is a tricky one in my experience as most stations are winding down operations by the time that bus comes through. Hard to get a read on it sometimes. Southbound they will make a connection somehow. Trains may not be held unless it is the last trip. Otherwise they will be provided alternate transportation. On the coastal route I've taken all the schedules (including over night) multiple times and haven't ever missed a connection yet (it happens but is rare). Using the San Joaquin I haven't missed one as well. Also being the holiday period there are extra services and staffing as well to try to notice and mitigate the issues given the huge load of additional passengers. Hopefully they have a smooth trip! I've used the Surfliner, Bus, and Capitol Corridor southbound this past Monday, Northbound on Tuesday, and will use it Southbound on Thursday/Friday and Northbound on Saturday so I am also vested in the bus status indications. Today was a Capitol Corridor only day/volunteer at Emeryville station afternoon (though my train 524 in the morning was annulled at Oakland for a mechanical failure and 535 was delayed 75 minutes due to a late inbound trainset!)

 

[BCL]

Apparently EMY is already closed and the bus isn't scheduled to arrive until maybe 11:30. This is going to be interesting. I don't think they've gotten anything to eat although I'd hope they thought ahead and bought something from the cafe car to save for dinner.

 

[tp49]

Usually they stop at the McDonald's and AM/PM in King City. Not great or gourmet but it's something and open 24 hours.

 

[BCL]

Usually they stop at the McDonald's and AM/PM in King City. Not great or gourmet but it's something and open 24 hours.

I found out they had stopped at McDonald's when I picked them up. I got to EMY with a bag from McDonald's when they told me.

They were specifically ticketed on the 4769. The station waiting room was closed but the parking lot gate was open. There were minimal lights at the station entrance when they were dropped off. I don't know if it's typical, but it was a charter bus with the company's markings. I just got there as the bus was leaving, and they told me one other passenger got off at Emeryville, but their bus had a lot of passengers dropped off in San Francisco. At least they crossed the Bay Bridge at night, and I think the could see the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

[roadman3313]

The Contractor is Silverado Stages for that route. They do have Amtrak California color buses (no Amtrak California decals), however they only have enough to cover the regular service and a spare or two. Given all the additional buses in service during the holiday they had to pull from their own fleet (though all the Amtrak California colored buses and most of their fleet buses they use are 2014 model year Setra S417TC coaches). The Silverado coaches will usually say Silverado and have a half circle of a tourist destination as a picture. Each coach has a different one. They were plain white earlier this year as they were new, however the logos should all be added on now.

Emeryville generally will wrap up operations after the Starlight (Train 14) passes through. If the Starlight is somewhat on time the station crew generally packed up everything and are ready to go right as the last Capitol Corridor train comes in and connects to the last local Thruway connection to San Francisco. There is a Thruway bus from Stockton due in at 12:10am but they don't stick around for that one as it is just dropping off with no connections.

The buses have a meal stop at the McDonald's in King City. There is also a Taco Bell across the street as well as a Starbucks, KFC, Subway, and AMPM. They will usually take 15 minutes there unless the trip is extremely late, however it is also the location where the driver calls into their dispatch with the passenger count and time as well as their driver break (restroom and food at McDonald's) location so they tend to try to make the stop. The McDonald's had a list for their staff of the scheduled times so they could prepare for the rush. They also keep the lobby open for the overnight buses (around 1:45-2:45am) so people can use the restroom and purchase food off their late-night menu (includes Breakfast items and lunch/dinner items).

The view is nice from the bridge at night now. Nice from the bus as well as you are higher up too.