The Big Sync: Making Bay Area transit transfers seamless

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Wheel Talk Guests (in order of appearance): 

• Andy Metz, AC Transit Regional Plans Principal Planner 
• Millie Tolleson, SamTrans Director of Planning 
• Ted Burgwyn, Caltrain Director of Rail Network and Operations Planning 
• Adina Levin, Seamless Bay Area Executive Director 

The Big Sync: How SamTrans Is Teaming Up to Improve Transit Transfers on the Peninsula 

SamTrans is partnering with other Bay Area transit agencies to better align bus and rail schedules at major hubs along the Peninsula. The effort is part of a regional initiative known as the Big Sync. 

One element of the Big Sync is the Bay Area TRANSFER Plan — short for Transit Reliability and Accessibility Network Scheduling Framework and Equitable Regional. The goal is to improve the rider experience by reducing transfer wait times and increasing reliability at key multimodal hubs. 

By synchronizing arrivals and departures where services intersect, the plan aims to make transit more seamless, equitable and time-competitive — especially for riders who depend on multiple systems to complete a single trip. 

This August, four major Bay Area transit hubs are seeing improved interagency coordination: Daly City BART and Palo Alto Caltrain — both served by SamTrans — along with Concord BART and Dublin/Pleasanton BART. 

“It really is about how we knit the system together in a way that works for the rider,” said SamTrans Director of Planning Millie Tolleson. “And that’s across agencies.” 

Read more about how this coordination is unfolding along the Peninsula.