Montara Got an On-Demand Ride Down the Coast This Summer. Most Neighbors Missed It.
On Aug. 2, SamTrans moved the northern edge of its Ride Plus Coastside zone past Pillar Point Harbor to take in Moss Beach and Montara. That means a shared van can now pick you up at the curb in Montara and drop you anywhere in the zone, which also covers El Granada and Half Moon Bay. It's the same public transit fare you'd pay on a SamTrans bus.
The Highway 1 miles between Montara and Main Street in Half Moon Bay are now covered. The bigger limit is the clock. Ride Plus on the Coastside runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and how useful it is to you depends on what time your errand runs.
Before this summer, the Coastside zone ran from Cañada Cove and Moonridge in south Half Moon Bay up to Pillar Point Harbor, according to Coastside News. North of the harbor, the only public option was a fixed bus route.
SamTrans announced the change on July 30. It made two changes at once. Moss Beach and Montara joined the zone, and Half Moon Bay service started an hour earlier, at 7 a.m. daily. SamTrans has also warned riders to expect to share vans with more passengers now that the zone is bigger and the hours are longer.
That last point affects your timing. A Ride Plus trip is a shared ride, much like a regular bus, so the van may stop for other riders along the way.
These are the fares SamTrans listed in the update it presented to the Midcoast Community Council on Oct. 14, 2026. SamTrans's older January 2025 rider guide lists $1.00 for youth on Clipper, so check the app for the fare charged on your trip:
| Rider | Cash or mobile | Clipper |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | $2.25 | $2.05 |
| Youth | $1.10 | $1.05 |
On board, you pay with exact cash, Clipper, or a bus pass. Booking works like this:
Questions and feedback go to [email protected].
The zone itself ends at the Midcoast. If you pay with Clipper or the SamTrans app, you get a free two-hour transfer to a connecting SamTrans route, and that's how you get past it. SamTrans lists Routes 117 and 294 as the fixed-route connections for the Coastside zone.
Route 117 runs between Linda Mar Park & Ride in Pacifica and Moonridge Apartments in Half Moon Bay. Its timetable, effective June 14, 2026, lists Montara, Moss Beach, and El Granada along the way. Named stops include Seton Coastside Medical Center, Half Moon Bay Airport, Strawflower Shopping Center, Ted Adcock Community Center, Cunha School, City Hall, and the Library. On weekends, buses leave Linda Mar Park & Ride about once an hour from early morning into the evening.
Route 294 runs over the hill between Hillsdale and Half Moon Bay. Its stops include Hillsdale Shopping Center and the Hillsdale Caltrain station. SamTrans posts weekday, Saturday, and Sunday schedules on the route page. Check the current one before you plan around it, since SamTrans said its next quarterly schedule update would come in November 2026.
So the van gets you from your street to the bus. From Montara, a Ride Plus trip to a Route 294 stop in Half Moon Bay, plus the free transfer, reaches Hillsdale and Caltrain on one fare if you pay with Clipper. Route 117 already runs through Montara, so the van matters most on the part of a trip from the bus stop to your door.
SamTrans runs two Ride Plus zones. The East Palo Alto/Belle Haven zone runs 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Half Moon Bay zone, which now includes Montara, runs 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both run seven days a week. The Coastside zone simply closes five hours earlier.
That makes Ride Plus a daytime service: a morning appointment at Seton Coastside, groceries at Strawflower, a midday lunch on Main Street. After 5 p.m., the fixed routes are what's left. Route 117's weekend timetable keeps running well past 5, but you'll be walking to and from the stops instead of riding curb to curb.
In practice, that means planning the trip home first. If you take Route 294 to Hillsdale in the afternoon, the van ride back from a Half Moon Bay stop to Montara has to start before 5. The free transfer only lasts two hours, so a long afternoon over the hill can use up both windows.
When SamTrans presented the expansion at the Midcoast Community Council's Oct. 14 meeting, the main concern raised was how few people knew about it. Coastside News reported that Charlsie Chang, a government and community affairs officer at SamTrans, walked the council through fares, booking, and wheelchair access. Councilmember Gus Mattammal, the council's treasurer, pushed for more outreach:
"I've also talked to a number of people who have no idea this is happening."
Councilmember Connie Santilli, who ran the meeting, offered to put up flyers at the post office, according to the same Coastside News account. Chang told the council the expansion was cost neutral, and that "We don't anticipate expanding outside of the zones."
SamTrans doesn't plan to extend the map, so the zone you can use today is likely the one you'll keep. The bigger open question is whether the van gets more crowded as word gets around. SamTrans has already said that sharing will increase.
The Midcoast's road clock changes for one night in early November as well. Caltrans is holding its annual emergency response drill at the Tom Lantos Tunnels at Devil's Slide. Both directions of Highway 1 close from 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, until 4 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6.
If you're coming home to Montara from Pacifica or San Francisco that night, the posted detour takes you east and back around. Exit Highway 1 at Sharp Park Road and head to Skyline Boulevard. Take I-280 south, then SR-92 west into Half Moon Bay and back up the coast. The northbound detour runs the same way in reverse. Caltrans, CHP, State Fire Marshals, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Pacifica Fire and Police, North County Fire, and Cal Fire are all part of the drill. Caltrans notes the work depends on the weather.
If you want an easy first trip, there's a Montara event in December that falls inside the service hours. Friends of Farallone has its Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the newly renovated Farallone View campus. The listing includes local vendors, holiday performances, food, and crafts. It ends three hours before the vans stop running, so there's time to book a ride home.
How you get up and down Highway 1 without a car is part of everyday life on the Midcoast, and Frank likes hearing how the new service is working for his neighbors. If you've taken a Ride Plus trip from Montara, or you're thinking about how getting around fits a move up or down the coast, Frank's Home Search is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
