County Connection

Always really late… This is the Third time and no shows up. Sooo disappointed of this

Don’t expect AC or a smile from your bus driver. Definitely makes riding with this company uncomfortable.

Perhaps the service is better in the Concord area, but in San Ramon it is an absolute joke. It seems geared towards middle and high schoolers as the times certainly don’t match up with Bart or the local colleges.
There also seems to be no one trying to regulate the times on these buses. More often then not they’re at least five minutes late (and I’ve seen them over ten a handful of times) from anywhere except the Bart station where those routes start – and from there they leave early!
On top of that, the County Connection says they have a policy for buses to wait up to three minutes for late Bart trains, but I’ve never seen that happen. If your train is running at all late, you’re going to miss your bus because it left exactly on time or a minute or two early.
The drivers often seem ambivalent; and there is even one that is always high, going by his excessively slow movements and driving, and the pungent marijuana smell.
If you think you can live in Contra Costa County and take public transportation to Bart, be warned. It is not a feasible solution, as you will often have to be at least an hour early to wherever you’re going, and close times will result in you being late.

Consider this a two-​and-​a-​half star review, as it’s a bit better than two stars. And this is only for the 10 bus, which goes from Concord BART to the Clayton area. Thankfully, I usually drive my car. Yet, once in a blue moon my car is in the shop and my husband is working, so I opt to take the bus and walk the several blocks to our house (we are near Ygnacio Rd and years ago we were off Pine Hollow and the same route goes there).
First, I’m happy that there is any bus line in this area and if you time it right, it is A-​OK. But off-​peak hours, you’re a bit screwed as the bus only comes once an hour. I ended up sitting on a hard concrete slab of a bench for 40 minutes just waiting for it to arrive. That is longer than the BART ride to my office in Oakland. With the transfer from the train, you save $ 1 off the fare and the driver started up, as expected, at 8:30 sharp. The ride up Clayton Road is pretty fast (though, for the first time, I was dropped off on Ayers, across Clayton Road and not in front of Kmart (it used to stop right in front, where I could walk to Alberta). Wondering if this is a new thing or an off-​peak route? There still is a bus stop sign in front of the store between Ayers and Alberta.
The seats are comfortable, the people have kept to themselves all the times I’ve been on. My main beef is the long wait between buses, but I suppose it’s a supply and demand thing. All I know is, I’m very grateful that I have a car and don’t have to depend on the bus from BART all the time.

Two Drivers are rude on the Rossmoor #1 line (got major attitudes)
Inappropriate remarks and didn’t know much about the bus system
Need to keep remarks to themselves and act more professional
Could care less about being helpful to a newcomer to the area

I’m pretty impressed with the County Connection. Ive been taking it from San Ramon to WC BART everyday for school and work. So far they’re clean, fast, and on time everyday.
This morning however I was sitting on the wrong bench and the 96X driver left without me. Other than that, I have no qualms.

Living in CoCo County without a car is a nightmare. Sadly, County Connection doesn’t help as much as a car-​less person would want.
First, the Pros:
— The bus drivers and customer service staff are friendly.
— The fare is $ 2, which is pretty standard in Bay Area bus systems.
— The buses are relatively clean.
Now, the Cons:
— Unlike TriDelta Transit, there is no day pass. You get a transfer pass for two other transfers that you have to use within 2 or 3 hours. That sucks when you have a bunch of errands to do or go to work.
— The 93x bus only travels in the early morning and evening so if you need to go from Walnut Creek to Clayton during the day, you have to take BART and connect to the #10 bus. Or, some other combination of buses. Very inconvenient.
— There’s no automated service to tell you when the next bus is coming so you have to speak to someone. But if you need that info after-​hours, there’s no one available. In San Francisco, you would dial «511» and speak the bus stop and you get GPS info as to when the bus will be there. Sad that Contra Costa trails S.F. by 5 years or more in that regard.
— The buses are often late or early so that you have to allow yourself a lot of time in order to catch the bus.
— There’s no combined schedule. This is ridiculous. Every route has its’ own individual schedule so you don’t know about a schedule unless you are on the bus! You can order a schedule from the main office, including a system map or print them off their website. If you’re like me and ride a bunch of routes, you’ll end up with a stack of individual schedules on your desk. Idiotic. Even worse, some of the buses have outdated schedules on them. I mentioned this to County Connection administration and they didn’t even seem to care. They said that it’s up to the bus drivers to take care of that! Really? Apathy and incompetence. Tragic.
— For operating these buses in hot temps., these buses typically don’t have the A/​C going. On too many occasions, I sit there sweating in the bus. I have no idea what the bus drivers are thinking.
I’m thankful that there’s some basic bus service but disappointed that County Connection is so inefficient. My recommendation: If you’re planning to live in the area for very long, buy a car, fast!
In fact, I think that County Connection’s motto should be, «County Connection: Buy a Damn Car Instead!!»

I find it absolutely ridiculous that as of March 2009 CCCTA would cut public transit service to the entire of eastern Walnut Creek (ALL neighborhoods near Northgate High School). No bus service whatsoever in that direction.
I used to take the 107 every day and it was actually quite busy during commute hours. Thanks, CCCTA, for putting all of these people 1) back in their cars or 2) stranded with no way to get to work.
The closest bus to BART is now a thirty-​eight minute walk away from my parents house.
Here’s an idea: why not get rid of the free «trolley» that takes shoppers around downtown WC all day long, and give back service to actual residents who are actually trying to get to their jobs?
Off to write that letter…

County Connection keeps raising their prices and slashing back on service. Now they don’t even have the route numbers up on the street stops, so unless you know exactly what route passes by, you have no clue where you are going.
The tardy buses have gotten me in trouble at work one too many times.
Please get your act together, County Connection.

County Connection has raised their fares and is expiring all pre-​paid cards. I have a $ 36 commuter card that I bought a while back that is only about ¼ of the way used up. Country Connection informs me they will expire my pass on ⁶⁄₁ with no refunds, credits, or upgrades. Thanks for stealing my money county connection.

I love the county connection. They get me to school and to Bart when I’m just too lazy to walk. Like that other guy, I wouldn’t even have gone to college without them.
They seem to have gotten better in the last few years. I remember a time when the bus would show up a half hour late, or not at all. They seem to keep to schedules better now.
Tip: If you ride the buses more than 4 times a week, invest in a monthly pass, it’ll save you some dough.

I have a love/​hate relationship with the County Connection. It gets me where I need to but sometimes it totally screws me over. Everytime it screws me over, I try to call and complain but no one ever answers their phones! I’ve written complaint e-​mails and letters but I don’t know if they ever get it! But the problems that I faced in the past have been resolved.

What does the numbers 102, 109, 110, and 127 all have in common?
They all either go directly or en route to Diablo Valley College!
When I started my first year of community college at this place, with no car this mode of transportation is as valuable as my two feet. Without it, I would have probably not been a student at my community college and my journey to the North-​East Bay would be for naught.