What's happening: MASCOTS, the Marin-Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service Plan, realigned SMART, Golden Gate Transit, and Marin Transit schedules along the Highway 101 corridor on April 12, according to planning materials from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).
Transportation Authority of Marin's board discussed the rollout's results at its July 23 meeting and Executive Director Anne Richman told the board SMART ridership is up 20% overall since MASCOTS took effect, with weekend ridership up more than 50%, transfers between SMART, Marin Transit, and Golden Gate Ferry and Transit up 45%, and Golden Gate Transit bus trips up about 22%.
Commissioner Urban Carmel, Mill Valley's representative on the board, called the effort a success.
Why it matters: Marin Transit's Route 17, which runs between Sausalito and San Rafael through downtown Mill Valley, no longer detours through the Strawberry Village area and Larkspur Landing on weekday daytime trips, according to the district's April 2026 service change notice.
The dotted blue line shows the Route 17 change. Instead of looping around Strawberry Village (F) and down to Seminary Drive, the weekday bus now takes the 101 northbound on-ramp at Tiburon Boulevard (E). (Marin Transit)
A Briefing comparison of Marin Transit's current published schedules shows what that means for one common trip: Mill Valley Depot to San Rafael Transit Center takes 23 minutes on the new daytime route, versus 32 minutes on the route's evening version, which still detours through the Strawberry Village area and Larkspur Landing before reaching San Rafael.
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