A half-dozen Bay Area transit agencies are stepping up an effort to make it easier for people to use public transportation to get to and from major COVID-19 vaccination sites across the region.
The agencies — AC Transit, BART, Golden Gate Transit and Ferry, San Francisco Muni, SamTrans and Santa Clara County's VTA — launched a one-page web guide Thursday on how to use the services to get to vaccine appointments.
All six of the agencies are offering free rides to passengers who have proof they're on their way to or from getting a COVID-19 shot — either a vaccination card or other appointment verification with the current date.
The guide is part of the Bay Area Healthy Transit Plan website, a portal that details measures that more than two dozen agencies across the region have taken to make riding safe during the pandemic.
It's an old story at this point, but it bears repeating: Transit patronage is down, about 70% for Muni and AC Transit, 88% for BART, and 95% for Caltrain and the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay ferry systems, among other big declines.