FAIRFIELD — Solano County has all kinds of options for getting from here to there that use the roads, rails and even the water.
Most local commuters use motor vehicles when traveling to work, 91 percent of them, according to the American Community Survey. Solano County has a central location between the Sacramento area and Bay Area and has a variety of major roads that pass through it.
The transportation backbone is Interstate 80, which runs down the center of the county like a spine. Various other regional routes, such as Highway 12, Highway 37, Interstate 680, Interstate 505 and Interstate 780 intersect with I-80 at various points.
But all of these roads which provide easy routes throughout the county to regional destinations have a major challenge – rush-hour traffic. Anyone who has spent Friday evening trying to take I-80 through Fairfield knows all about it.
For those sick of driving in and often sitting in traffic, the county offers other options as well.
Commuters can leave the driving to someone else and take the bus. Express buses travel between the county and Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in El Cerrito, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek.
The newest addition to the local bus world is Route 21 , which is run by the Napa Vine transit and travels between Fairfield-Suisun and Napa via Highway 12 in Jameson Canyon. Bus riders previously had to take an out-of-the-way route through Vallejo.
Capitol Corridor trains stop in Suisun City on their way between Sacramento and San Jose, with a link to BART in Richmond. Suisun City has Solano County’s only active train station, but that could change by 2016. Fairfield plans to build a train station at Vanden and Peabody roads.
Then there’s the water route. The Vallejo Ferry has commute runs from the Vallejo waterfront to San Francisco. Groundbreaking recently took place for another ferry stop in Vallejo across the Mare Island Strait from the present terminal, on Mare Island.
Just for good measure, Solano County has bike and pedestrian routes for those who like to get about on their own power.
The county even offers options for those who have private planes. Pilots can use either the Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville or the Rio Vista Airport.
Here is where to go to get information on getting around Solano County and the region:
- Fairfield-Suisun Transit System: www.fasttransit.org or 422-2877.
- BART: www.bart.gov or 510-465-2278 (Fairfield and Vallejo buses and Capitol Corridor trains connect with BART stations)
- SolTrans (Benicia and Vallejo bus service): www.soltransride.com or 648-4046.
- Vallejo Baylink Ferry: www.baylinkferry.com or 877-643-3779.
- Dixon Readi-Ride: www.ci.dixon.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=237 or 678-5020.
- Vacaville Transit: www.citycoach.com or 449-6000.
- Rio Vista Delta Breeze: http://riovistacity.com/delta-breeze-transit-system or 374-2878.
- Nut Tree Airport, Vacaville: www.co.solano.ca.us/depts/genserv/nta/default.asp or 469-4600.
- Rio Vista Airport: http://riovistacity.com/airport or 374-2176.
- Capitol Corridor Trains: www.capitolcorridor.org or 877-974-3322.
- Solano-Napa Commuter Information: www.commuterinfo.net/ or 800-535-6883.
- Napa Vine Transit: www.ridethevine.com/vine or 251-2800.
Reach Barry Eberling at 427-6929, or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/beberlingdr.
