WestCAT

WestCAT

WestCAT branded Gillig Low-Floor traveling along the JPX route
Parent	Western Contra Costa Transit Authority
Founded	1977
Headquarters	601 Walter Ave, Pinole
Service area	Contra Costa County, California
Service type	transit bus, express bus, paratransit
Routes	14
Stops	300
Fleet	57
Daily ridership	4,944
Fuel type	Diesel, Gasoline, & Hybrid Electric
Operator	MV Transportation
Website	westcat.org

WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County (north of Oakland, CA). It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority.

The Western Contra Costa County Transit (WestCAT) was established in August 1977 as a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement between the County of Contra Costa and the cities of Hercules and Pinole. It was created with the purpose of owning, operating and administering a public transportation system serving the area between the Richmond/El Sobrante border to the west and the Al Zampa Memorial Bridge to the east. WestCAT is governed by a 7-member Board of Directors and supported by professional staff of seven. The two cities of Pinole and Hercules are each represented by two board members, while the unincorporated communities of Crockett, Rodeo, and MonTaraBay each have one representative, appointed by the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors.

WestCAT's fleet started out with shuttle vans, and then using buses made by El Dorado National and Thomas Built Buses. Now, WestCAT runs an almost all Gillig fleet, ranging from 19 Gillig Phantoms, to 18 Gillig Low Floors. WestCAT also has 5 Motor Coach Industries (MCI) over-the-road coaches for use on the LYNX. In addition, WestCAT has 10 Ford E-450 Paratransit vans, and 2 Toyota Camry hybrid electric sedans used for Dial-A-Ride.

Fixed-route service

As of September 2013, WestCAT provides a network of local and express bus routes throughout western Contra Costa County. In addition, WestCAT operates regional service between Martinez (Route 30Z) and the Hercules Transit Center and between the Hercules Transit Center and Contra Costa College (Route C3). The (Local) routes are 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. Also (Express) JX, JL/JR (referred to as the "J" by most riders, the "L" designates via Lakeside Drive, and the "R" designates via Richmond Parkway), JPX (serves Pinole Valley residents wanting to go to the Hercules Transit Center or BART). Also, WestCAT operates transbay service between the Hercules Transit Center and the San Francisco Transbay Terminal called the LYNX with stops in the Rodeo Park and Ride located on Willow Avenue, North Shore Business Park near Bio-Rad, the Victoria by the Bay neighborhood in Hercules and the Hercules Transit Center. From the Hercules Transit Center the line then goes nonstop to San Francisco via the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-80. WestCAT currently offers free Wi-Fi service on the LYNX line.

Major transfer points for the majority of WestCAT and other agency's routes include:

• Hercules Transit Center in Hercules
• Hilltop Mall Shopping Center in Richmond
• Richmond Parkway Transit Center in Richmond
• El Cerrito del Norte BART in El Cerrito
• Martinez Amtrak Station in Martinez
• San Francisco Transbay Terminal in San Francisco

Routes

Route Number	Direction	Terminals		Days of Operation †	Schedule Information	Notes
		North/East Terminal	South/West Terminal
10	Loop	Hercules Transit Center - Turquoise		Weekdays	Route 10 Schedule
11	Loop	Hercules Transit Center - Crockett		Weekdays and Saturdays	Route 11 Schedule
12	Loop	Hercules Transit Center - Mandalay/Bonaire		Weekdays	Route 12 Schedule
15	Loop	Hercules Transit Center - Viewpointe Blvd		Weekdays	Route 15 Schedule
16	Loop	Richmond Parkway Transit Center - Wright Ave/Doidge Ave		Weekdays	Route 16 Schedule
17	Loop	Richmond Parkway Transit Center - Cypress/Broadmore		Weekdays (except midday)	Route 17 Schedule
18	Loop	Richmond Parkway Transit Center - Tara Hills		Weekdays (except midday)	Route 18 Schedule
19	Loop	Hercules Transit Center - Hilltop Mall Shopping Center		Saturdays Only	Route 19 Schedule	[19]
C3 Regional Route	East-West	Hercules Transit Center	Contra Costa College	Weekdays	Route C3 Schedule
30Z Regional Route	East-West	Martinez Amtrak	Hercules Transit Center	Weekdays	Route 30Z Schedule	[30Z]
J (JR/JL) Express Route	North-South	Hercules Transit Center Weekdays Willow/Viewpointe Weekdays after 8pm & Weekends	El Cerrito del Norte BART	Daily	Route J Schedule	[J]
JX Express Route	North-South	Hercules Transit Center	El Cerrito del Norte BART	Weekdays (except midday)	Route JX Schedule
JPX Express Route	North-South	Hercules Transit Center	El Cerrito del Norte BART	Weekdays	Route JPX Schedule	[JPX]
LYNX Transbay Route	North-South	Willow Avenue Commute trips Hercules Transit Center Non-commute trips	S.F. Transbay Terminal	Weekdays (limited holiday service)	Route LYNX Schedule	[LYNX]

• † Holidays schedule is shown on the WestCAT Holidays page.
• [JPX] Richmond Parkway Transit Center service only during midday from 9:40am to 2:30pm, route also serves Hercules Transit Center.
• [J] JR Via Richmond Parkway and Blume Drive and JL Via Lakeside Drive.
• [LYNX] Route serves Hercules Transit Center, and most peak period services also serve Bio-Rad, all terminating at Victoria By The Bay. Also operates midday (non-commute) trips between San Francisco and Hercules Transit Center, and it does not serve Bio-Rad or Victoria By The Bay.

Fares

Fares are effective 1 October 2008.

Cash and Passes

Route	Type	Adult/Student (6-64) †	Senior (65+)/Disabled ‡
Fixed Route/Express	Single ride	US$1.75	US$0.75
	Day Pass	US$3.50	US$1.50
	31-Day Pass	US$40.00	US$20.00
	Stored Value Pass	US$20.00	US$7.50
	East Bay Value Pass #	US$60.00	US$60.00
LYNX Transbay Route	Single ride	US$5.00	US$2.00
	31-Day Pass	US$140.00	US$70.00
	10-Ride Pass	US$50.00	US$20.00
Dial-A-Ride	Single ride	US$4.00	US$1.25
	Discount Tickets	not available	US$10.00
ADA Paratransit	Single ride	not available	US$3.00
	Discount Tickets	not available	US$25.00

Transfer

Route	Transfer from ₮	Adult/Student (6-64) †	Senior (65+)/Disabled ‡
Fixed Route/Express	other WestCAT buses, Capitol Corridor, County Connection, and Tri Delta Transit	FREE	FREE
	BART, SolTrans, AC Transit, and Golden Gate Transit	US$1.00	US$0.50
LYNX Local trips	WestCAT Local Fixed Routes/Express	FREE	FREE
LYNX Transbay Route	WestCAT Local Fixed Routes/Express	US$3.25	US$1.25

• † Children under six years of age may ride free, but must be accompanied by an adult. Limit 2 children under six years per fare paying adult.
• ‡ Appropriate identification must be presented to obtain the discounted Senior/Disabled fare.
• # East Bay Value Pass value on all WestCAT, County Connection, Wheels and Tri Delta Transit fixed-route buses, with the exception of LYNX.
• ₮ In order to facilitate passenger connections between WestCAT and other agency, transfer slips are issued upon request at the time the proper fare is paid and transfer at shared stops only (exception Capital Corridor trains, which are FREE anywhere within WestCAT’s service area with validated transfer).

Service Area

A WestCAT fixed route bus at the temporary San Francisco Transbay Terminal.

WestCAT provides service to the communities of:

• Bayview
• Crockett
• El Cerrito
• Hercules

• Martinez
• Montalvin Manor
• Pinole

• Port Costa
• Richmond
• Rodeo

• San Francisco
• San Pablo
• Tara Hills

The local transportation demand management organization 511 Contra Costa also provides information for intermodal transfers throughout Contra Costa County, and works closely with WestCAT to help transit users make regional connections beyond their immediate service area.

External links

• WestCAT