The Links shuttle program was started in response to unmet transportation needs voiced by business owners in west and central San Leandro. According to Gordon Galvan, Executive Director of the San Leandro Links, "AC Transit provides great north/south coverage, but only limited east/west coverage in the city's industrial areas. These businesses have significant parking constraints and their employees have only a handful of options for commuting via public transit. That is where the Links comes into play." Links provides a free, quick and convenient commuter shuttle linking businesses in San Leandro's industrial areas with the regional transit hub located at the San Leandro BART station."

Gordon laughs…"Raising money, raising money and oh yeah… raising money!" Gordon has spent a good deal of time during the first few months of service meeting directly with business owners, explaining the benefits of the new service and trying to secure commitments for future funding. "This has clearly been, and continues to be, our biggest hurdle."

From an operations perspective things seem to have gone quite smoothly. Gordon attributes the program's early success to two things: 1) a clear and concise Request For Proposals and 2) a contract operator "willing to go the extra mile." Gordon added, "the RFP was very specific regarding the goals of the service and our expectations for the contract operator. It helped the contractors to really focus their bids. We ended up selecting MV Transportation and they've really been helpful during the initial break-in period."

"For starters…it always takes longer than you think it will." Gordon cautioned, "if you think it will take three months, give it six. Operations and marketing require that you take your time; go slowly and be methodical. And you can never do enough research." He also added that it really helps to talk with other small operations and gain from their experience.

Links has already exceeded expectations. Ridership during the first six months was projected to range between 50 and 100 daily boardings. Current daily ridership has reached almost 200 boardings. "We knew there was some pent up demand but we didn't think it would be quite this high," says Gordon. "We've had to tweak the route a bit to stay on schedule and maintain the 15-minute headways, but all-in-all, the service continues to make great progress."

So far, riders are happy with Links. "It has filled the niche intended. In the future passengers would like to see GPS locators and more shelters at bus stops." Gordon says, "I guess there's always room for improvements, but on the whole, the system has been really well-received."

Local politicians and policymakers "are extremely happy," says Gordon. City Council members and Chamber of Commerce staff have already expressed an interest in expanding the service to other areas and markets.

In the short term, Gordon would like to increase the financial commitments from local businesses so the service can become more self sufficient. Longer-term goals include possible service expansions to new markets including schools and senior citizens.

For more information contact Gordon Galvan via email at gordongalvan@attbi.com or visit the Links website: www.sanleandrolinks.com