The San Mateo County Transit District’s (SamTrans) board voted at their November meeting to award MV Transportation a five-year contract to operate just under one-third of the agency’s fixed-route bus service.

The contract to provide Contracted Urban Bus (CUB) service will run from 2024 to 2029 and restricts expenses during those five years to $151.2 million. It allows for two additional option years in 2030 and 2031 for a not-to-exceed total of $65.8 million.

The SamTrans, MV Transportation Contract

To accommodate the contract, operating budgets for SamTrans were amended for the fiscal years of 2024 and 2025 to $270.2 million and $281.9 million, respectively.

Award of the contract provides SamTrans with an experienced firm responsible for operating, dispatching, managing, and maintaining the district-provided buses for CUB Services in a safe, timely, and professional manner.

“SamTrans and MV Transportation have achieved great things together over the years,” said SamTrans GM/CEO April Chan. “They will continue to be a vital partner as we grow our ridership, expand our service, and help the people of San Mateo County with their mobility needs.”

Additionally, the contractor will provide appropriate vehicle storage and maintenance facilities. SamTrans has two bus yards, one in South San Francisco and the other in San Carlos. MV has bus yards located in Half Moon Bay and Redwood City.

MV Transportation’s Partnership

SamTrans bus service is directly operated by either SamTrans or is contracted out to MV Transportation, who has been providing CUB service to SamTrans since 2002. The company primarily handles routes 120, 292, 397, Owl (late night) services and ECR.

The current MV contract expires on Jan. 31, 2024, and the new contract will begin on February 1, 2024.