The Golden Gate Park Shuttle, a free service of the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority (www.goldengateparkconcourse.org), will launch its third summer season on Saturday, May 17, 2003.
Attracting nearly 30,000 passengers last season -- an average of more than 500 riders each weekend day -- the Park Shuttle will operate weekends and holidays from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. through October 26, 2003. Starting at McLaren Lodge on the eastern edge of the Park and going to Ocean Beach and returning, the free Park Shuttle will pick up passengers at approximately 15-minute intervals at 15 locations throughout the Park, several of which conveniently connect to MUNI bus stops. This season's supporting sponsors include the Bay Area Air Quality Transportation Fund for Clean Air and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
"We are proud to provide another summer of free shuttle service to Park visitors," said Michael Ellzey, executive director of the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority, the public agency responsible for the revitalization of the Park's Music Concourse area. "Over the past two summers, the free Park Shuttle has proven itself a viable and popular public service that eases traffic congestion and guarantees that the Park remains pedestrian-friendly. With museum construction under way in the Music Concourse area, Sunday road closures near the Conservatory of Flowers, and large public events scheduled for most weekends, the free Shuttle will again provide a valuable public service by ensuring that people are able to enjoy the Park's many attractions, while reducing the impact of automobiles on the environment and the Park experience."
Well-marked Park Shuttle stops are located near all major attractions, including the Conservatory of Flowers, California Academy of Sciences, National AIDS Memorial Grove, Japanese Tea Garden, Strybing Arboretum, Stow Lake, Buffalo Paddock, the Polo Fields, and the Beach Chalet. Rides are free, and visitors may embark/disembark at any stop. The Shuttle also provides convenient transportation into the Park from the nearby UCSF Parking Garage, where Park visitors are urged to leave their cars. Shuttle route maps are available throughout the Park, at neighborhood and visitor locations throughout the City, and on the Concourse Authority's web site, www.goldengateparkconcourse.org.
