Marin Transit selects new operator for Muir Woods shuttle

After a successful test run last year, a new vendor will take over shuttle service to and from Muir Woods National Monument.

The switch to Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation Inc. of San Francisco is the first vendor change in about 15 years. MV Transportation, a Dallas company with Bay Area branches, decided not to rebid for a renewal of its contract that ended June 30.

Bauer’s was brought on for a 23-week trial period from May 26 through the fall. It got a 90% ridership approval rating, county transit officials reported Monday.

The board governing Marin Transit voted unanimously to hire the company on a one-year base contract of up to $1 million. Under a separate agreement with the National Park Service, the first $800,000 in costs will be shared evenly between the two agencies. The park agency will be on the hook for the rest.

“Our mission with the Muir Woods shuttle is to provide a meaningful method of traffic mitigation to and from the woods in a way that is comfortable and reliable, and of course, above all else, safe,” said Kyle French, operations manager of Marin Transit.

The new service has enabled more reliable route timing and a reduction in ride cancellations by more than 95% compared to the previous service, French said.

The Muir Woods shuttle, also known as Route 66, began in 2009 and carried an average of 143,000 riders annually in the years leading up to the pandemic.

Marin Transit began advertising for shuttle operators in 2022 as the end of the contract with MV Transportation drew closer. The vendor did not apply, nor did any others, after two bid attempts by transit officials.

Robert Betts, director of operations and service development at Marin Transit, said officials are still trying to figure out why MV Transportation and others did not bid.

Marin Transit reached out to Bauer’s and negotiated a deal for a truncated 2023 shuttle season.

In 2023, the shuttle carried 61,120 passengers. That represented a 28% decrease from previous years that could be attributed to the shortened shuttle season, said Asher Butnik, a planner for Marin Transit.

The shuttle did carry 1,257 passengers on the Sunday before Memorial Day, which was the highest ridership day of the year, he said.

It cost about $1.25 million to operate the shuttle in 2023, which was a 41% increase over 2022, Butnik said. The jump in cost was largely because Bauer’s is providing its own vehicles and handling maintenance, whereas MV Transportation used Marin Transit vehicles. Maintenance costs and vehicle depreciation were not factored in their contract.

All vehicles will have a minimum of 25 seats available for ticket sales and will be no more than 35 feet long to accommodate the vehicle length restrictions on the route, French said.

The Marin Transit board includes the five county supervisors. Supervisor Dennis Rodoni asked staff to continue to monitor traffic in and around Muir Woods, which in the past has been a source of consternation for locals in the area.

“If we start having problems out there again this service is going to be the solution for it,” Rodoni said. “I’m glad that the park service has stepped up with a contribution that is more appropriate, probably, and reduced our cost. I think that’s a good thing.”

Transit board members said there are construction plans in the pipeline to upgrade roads near Muir Woods and to improve the main parking lot area. Supervisor Mary Sackett asked how that would affect the shuttle.

Betts said it could increase demand because parking would be impacted, but it could also force the agency to use smaller vehicles with less passenger capacity in order to navigate construction.

French said the new contract has a built-in flexibility for a 1% to 5% increase each option year. So if the contract goes up 2%, for example, the Marin Transit contribution will also go up 2%. The contract will be reevaluated every year.

Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters said she wanted to know how this shuttle service compares to other partnerships with the National Park Service.

Betts said Marin Transit’s program is the model for partnerships with transit officials. Most shuttle services are part of a concessionaire contract, he said, so the same people who are managing accommodations and concessions are also managing the shuttle.

“What the parks likes about this is we bring the expertise and the oversight for the transit service specifically, that often times, National Parks doesn’t have in house,” Betts said.

“That’s great to understand because it tells me what we contribute in addition to financial support, and our technical expertise is probably just as valuable, if not more,” Moulton-Peters said.

The shuttle service is expected to begin in late March and operate through October. The shuttle will run weekends and holidays from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. Over the summer, there will be weekday service from the Sausalito Ferry Terminal.

Shuttle and parking information is at gomuirwoods.com.