Unitrans announced that it will expand its weekend service and add weekday service to the Target store, starting Monday (Aug. 3) along with other service changes for 2015-16.

New, printed schedules for the bus system serving UC Davis and city of Davis will be available soon on buses and at terminals, and will be mailed to all Davis residences in September.

Anthony Palmere, general manager, said Unitrans is expanding service in response to requests from the public.

• All weekend lines — D, J, O, P, Q, V and W — will run an hour later. Last runs Saturday and Sunday will depart as follows: J, O and W lines, 6:10 p.m. from the Silo Terminal; P and Q lines, 6:10 p.m. from the Memorial Union Terminal; and D and V lines, 6:40 p.m. from the Silo.

• Weekend service on the P and Q lines will start a half-hour earlier, at 8:30 a.m., so passengers can get to the campus or downtown prior to 9 a.m. Both of these lines run along the Davis perimeter, with P going counterclockwise and Q going clockwise.

Palmere said Unitrans applied for and received a state grant of $30,977 to pay for the added weekend service. The California Department of Transportation awarded the money under a program that aims to improve access to public transportation, as a way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

• New weekday service to Target on the Z line, serving the Memorial Union Terminal, downtown, Amtrak depot and Fifth Street. Unitrans already offers weekend service to Target, on the O line Shoppers Shuttle, so, with the addition of weekday service, Unitrans will stop seven days a week at the store on Second Street.

Also, with a route adjustment, the Z line will make two new stops: Second Street and Cousteau Place, and Pena Drive north of Second Street, providing service to the UC Davis offices in those areas. 

Service to Target on the Z line will be every 30 minutes during regular service (when UC Davis classes are in session, starting Sept. 24 this fall), and hourly during summer/break and finals service.

Palmere noted how the A and Z lines will work together to provide 15- or 30-minute frequency where the routes overlap: downtown, Amtrak station, Fifth Street and Alhambra Boulevard to Mace Boulevard. Frequency will be 15 minutes during regular service, 30 minutes during summer/break service.

Upon reaching Mace Boulevard, the Z line loops back to campus via Second Street (and the Target store), while the A line continues to south Davis.

Other changes for 2015-16 include:

• A line — During summer/break service, A-line buses leaving the Silo Terminal at :30 after the hour (morning) and :40 after the hour (afternoon) will be replaced by Z-line buses leaving the Memorial Union Terminal at the same times.

• O line — Shoppers Shuttle is revised to serve both the Memorial Union and Silo terminals, with service to both sides of University Mall.

• Night service — It will be on the J and W lines in summer, instead of the G and M lines.

• H line — This campus perimeter shuttle is eliminated, after failing to attract significant ridership. Unitrans advises that service to the Health Sciences District will continue to be available on the D and V lines, with stops on Hutchison Drive at Health Sciences Drive. Another option: The intercampus shuttle, which you can ride for free as long as you’re riding only from stop to stop on the Davis campus. The hourly shuttle stops at the Mondavi Center, Lot 56 (Health Sciences District) and Silo Terminal before heading to the Sacramento campus.

Palmere said the new schedule also reflects minor changes in the timing of several lines..

There will be no changes to the S and T lines, which will begin running on Aug. 26 with the start of the Davis school calendar.

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