RIPTIDE

One uses public transportation because it goes where you want to go when you want to go there. This express route could address a failure of SamTrans on the coastside from the time it came into being, namely that there is no way to commute to work in a reasonable amount of time and at the hours necessary from the coastside south of Devil's Slide. I agree that the time-consuming meanderings of the buses off the highway make the service a non-starter for people using the bus to get to work. The local meanderings also make it difficult to keep buses on schedule. In addition to being a faster route, it would be easier to keep the express bus dependably on schedule.

For those of us living south of the slide, there is the huge added problem of having to transfer at Linda Mar. The wait at that transfer alone would often be double the entire time it took me to drive from home to my office in Pacifica. It could easily add an hour to the total two-way commute time. The express bus would eliminate this problem.

The hours of operation would be critical to increase the ridership. I'd suggest a minimum of 6 a.m. starting in Half Moon Bay to 10 p.m. starting from Colma BART. Make that 12 a.m. on weeknights or even 1 a.m. on weekends from Colma BART if you want to pick up riders dining and/or going to evening entertainment in the city or going to Giants or Warriors games.

And why Devil's Slide as a stop? Maybe on busy weekends, but otherwise this bus needs to move!

There's also a Highway 1 turnout at Eureka Square and another at Milagra Drive (Pacific Manor).

Exactly as you described, a "Highway 1 Express" from downtown HMB to Colma BART is the route our coastal bus should have been running from Day One. The current route takes the bus only 1/10 to 1/5 of a mile off the main drag -- but burns up a huge amount of time.