The San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) fleet of buses has operated throughout San Mateo County since 1976, after county voters approved the formation of samTrans in 1974 to merge 11 predecessor municipal bus systems.

Summary

, SamTrans operates a total of 379 vehicles in revenue service. SamTrans has two maintenance facilities for its fixed-route bus fleet. SamTrans headquarters are in San Carlos, California, one block southwest from the Caltrain station. In addition, two facilities are used by its paratransit operator, MV Transportation: one at Brewster Depot in Redwood City, and another facility in Half Moon Bay.

Livery

The samTrans livery is predominantly white with red and blue stripes. Early buses featured linear horizontal stripes, and starting with the 2009 Gillig BRTs, the stripes are curved along the sides. A new variant of the livery was introduced later; the base color is silver, instead of white, and the blue stripe extends from below the front door to the beltline at the rear, with a red stripe starting from the headlight and flowing up to the roof.

Fixed-route fleet Under the California Air Resources Board Innovative Clean Transit regulation adopted in December 2018, public transit agencies in California will gradually transition to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040. SamTrans has set a goal of transitioning to an all-electric fleet by 2032. SamTrans considers fixed-route vehicles to have a service lifetime of 12 years.

Current Mfr & ModelTypeFleet numbersYear builtQtyImage Notes Gillig BRT 40-ft400-490200991 446-490 are assigned to contract runs, operated by MV Transportation.

Standard rear styling600-649201750Standard rear styling 40-ft Hybrid700-724201325 40-ft900-920201421 35-ft500-539201040 535-539 are assigned to contract runs, operated by MV TransportationGillig Low Floor29-ft2910-291320134 No rear door2950-2961201412New Flyer XD60 60-ft artic.800-854201955 Intended to be the last purchase of diesel buses. Pilot bus 800 delivered April 2019. Full-roof spec

On order

Mfr & ModelTypeFleet numbersYear builtQtyImage Notes New Flyer XE40 (NG) 40-ft1000+2022Currently has 16, more to come Currently mainly running on routes 120 & 130. Also running on several other routes, like the ECR, 112, 121, or EPX New Flyer XHE403000+202310 Currently mainly running on routes 120 & 130. Also running on several other routes, like the ECR, 112, 121, or EPX Gillig BRT+ (battery-electric)5000+2023?20 Some in service as of January 2026.

Retired

Mfr & Model Type Fleet Numbers Year Built Qty Preserved Unit(s) Last Retired Image Notes General Motors Old Look 35-ft 200-213; 215-218 1947 18 TDH-4507 models acquired from various transit operators in 1976. 37' 9" 214, 219 2 TDH-4801 models acquired from various transit operators in 1976. 30-ft 242 1 TDH-3501 model acquired from Northgate Transit in 1976. 28-ft 243 1 TGH-3102 model acquired from Northgate Transit in 1976. General Motors New Look 35-ft 100-137; 175-187 1960-67 51 1985 TDH-4517, -4518, and -4519; T6H-4523N models acquired from various transit operators in 1976; replaced in 1985. 40-ft 151-167; 9801-9849 1960-63 17 1985 TDH-5301 and -5303; TDM-5303 models acquired from various transit operators in 1976; replaced in 1985. Flxible New Look 40-ft 150 1963 1 1983 Acquired from Seattle Metro (ex-778). AM General Metropolitan 35-ft coach 400-443 1977 44 EQ1 (439), EQ2 (440) 1990 "Earthquake buses" EQ1 and EQ2 were retained in the contingency fleet, replaced by 2017. 40-ft coach 500-529 30 Crown-Ikarus 286 60-ft articulated 700–709 1980 10 1992? Placed in reserve fleet by 1985. Flyer D900 35-ft coach 300-359 1980 60 1994 Some were transferred to Muni to serve in the reserve fleet. They retained the samTrans fleet number with an "R" appended. 40-ft coach 600-652 53 Gillig Phantom 40-ft coach 400-437 1990 38 2004 600-665; 667-672 1998 72 635, DR1 (651), DR2 (637) 2015 635, 637 (DR2), and 651 (DR1) retained in contingency fleet for marketing & outreach, replacing AM General EQ1/EQ2 (1977) and Gillig 852 (1984). 800-821 1983 22 1998 850-899 1984 50 852 2003 852 replaced as marketing/outreach bus by 635. 900-972 1993 73 2010 Overhauled and life extended to 2008/10. 9890-9895 1988 6 2006 Initially designated for training service. 35-ft coach 700-763 1993 64 2010 Overhauled and life extended to 2008/10. 40-ft suburban 800-810 2003 11 2008 Ordered without rear doors; originally intended for route REX (Regional EXpress). Volvo B10M 60-ft articulated 100-114 1985 15 2002-03 Scrapped Neoplan USA AN460A 60-ft articulated 116-130 1985 15 2002 Assigned to contract runs originally operated by Greyhound Peninsula Lines until 1990, Grosvenor Bus Lines until the early 2000's and finally MV Transportation. They sported "9" in front of their fleet numbers. (9)129 was totaled in an accident in 1995 and was scrapped. Retired circa 2002-2003. All units were scrapped. NFI D60 60-ft articulated 500-539 1990 40 2004 500-529 were originally assigned to contract runs, operated by Grosvenor Bus Lines until the early 2000's and later MV Transportation. They sported "9" in front of their fleet numbers. Most units ranging from 509-529 returned to the district shortly before retirement. Retired in 2003-2004. Equipped with Detroit Diesel Series 92 (6V92) engines. Gillig Low Floor 40-ft coach 300-359 2003-04 60 2017 300-359 equipped with Detroit Diesel Series 50 engines. Currently used for training duty. NABI 436 (60-SFW) 60 ft. High-floor Articulated bus 100–154 (0200-0254)2002552020 Last NABI 436 buses built. First units entered service on 11/4/2002 and the last units entered service in January 2003. 147-154 were operated by MV Transportation for contracted routes. Later 141-146 were assigned to contracted routes. 137-140 were temporarily assigned to contracted runs, but later returned to the district.Gillig Low Floor29-ft2900-2903200942022 Currently used for training duty.Proterra Catalyst 40-ft, E2 battery725–7342018-20102020First battery electric buses for samTrans. Replica #750 exhibited in Oct 2018. 2 of 2 "Lot 1" (400V) buses accepted, then retired due to technical issues; 6 of 8 "Lot 2" (800V) buses delivered, then returned due to door issues. Remainder of order canceled.

Notes

See also San Francisco Municipal Railway fleet

References

External links