San Mateo County is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and its residents have access to an extensive range of public transportation options. The county has a variety of bus lines, commuter trains, shuttles, and light rails operated by SamTrans, Caltrain, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), and VTA (Valley Transportation Authority).
The county’s public transportation system provides efficient travel between cities throughout the county with dozens of routes that connect commuters to and from the many cities. Regular bus lines run through major cities such as Daly City, San Bruno, Burlingame, Belmont, Hillsborough, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Atherton and Palo Alto. Light rail trains provide connections to San Francisco with stops at Colma Station for easy access to downtown SFO Airport. Commuter trains also provide direct access between stations in San Mateo County and other counties like Santa Clara County.
The VTA bus line connects major areas in the county with an express route from Redwood City to Fremont via East Palo Alto. This service runs every fifteen minutes during peak morning hours on weekdays and every thirty minutes on Saturdays during regular operating hours. There are also other shuttles that offer a more convenient way of traveling short distances within neighborhoods in the county without having to use a car or a taxi service.
Overall, San Mateo County offers its residents several viable public transportation options for commuting around the area with ease and convenience.
The typical American commute has been getting longer each year since 2010. The average one-way commute in San Mateo County takes 28.2 minutes. That's longer than the US average of 26.4 minutes.
How people in San Mateo County get to work:
- 68.7% drive their own car alone
- 10.6% carpool with others
- 4.8% work from home
- 10.4% take mass transit