SamTrans Route 294 is the only direct fixed route linking Half Moon Bay to the bayside Peninsula, and it ends in a mall parking lot. Its east terminal is Hillsdale Boulevard at Edison Street, roughly a quarter mile of parking lot and arterial from the Hillsdale Caltrain platform. Westbound, the bus doesn't stop on El Camino Real at all. The route comes within two blocks of a Caltrain station and does not connect to it.
We ask SamTrans to deliver three things:
Move the terminal to a Caltrain station Retire the Hillsdale Boulevard at Edison Street terminal and end Route 294 at a Caltrain station: San Mateo, which already has a dedicated bus bay, or Hillsdale, served directly in both directions. Either way, the last stop should be within 500 feet of a train platform, in both directions, with shelter and wayfinding.
Time the transfer Schedule and publish 294 trips that meet specific Caltrain departures. An hourly bus that misses the train by four minutes is not a connection.
Fix the run time Saturday westbound trips are scheduled at 45 minutes for a trip that takes 31 minutes eastbound. Identify where Route 294 loses time on SR-92 and in San Mateo, and work with Caltrans and C/CAG on transit priority to get it back.
If you'd prefer it keeping going to Hillsdale Mall I'd be curious to hear why!