For nearly 40 years, Sonoma Valley residents who work in San Francisco have had the option of commuting in style using a bus service funded largely out of their own pockets.
The Valley of the Moon Commute Club links back to an era when national gasoline shortages helped spark a burgeoning environmental movement and do-it-yourself forms of alternative transportation.
But now that link is threatened. The club, which is the only bus service offering nonstop service from Sonoma Valley to San Francisco, could cease operations by the end of February, the victim of declining membership, rising costs and what some club members and Sonoma Valley officials say are misplaced priorities on the part of county and regional transit planners.
"I'm going to be sad to see this go because it's an easy and convenient way to get to work," said Tim Chapin, who as bus captain is in charge of collecting dues.
In its heyday, the Valley of the Moon club ran five buses during the work week. Now down to one bus, the club has only enough cash on hand to continue operating through the end of the month, Chapin said.
He said the group has lost members as the economy has soured and commute patterns have changed. In turn, that has led to higher dues, which most recently were set at $350 a month, or $30 for a single round-trip ride.
Chapin said to keep the service running, monthly dues likely would have to increase even more to cover escalating costs, or the club would have to find an additional six to eight riders.
He said another option would be for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District to increase its subsidy to the commute club. That subsidy currently amounts to 30 percent of the club's fees.
But Chapin said he's been rebuffed in his attempts to have the subsidy increased, despite his argument that the Valley of the Moon club took on more passengers when a similar club folded in Napa.
"I was told that we were fortunate to have the subsidy that we have," Chapin said.
Commute clubs across the Bay Area are on the verge of extinction. Valley of the Moon is one of three still running - down from a high of about 40 in the 1970s, said Ron Downing, director of planning for Golden Gate Transit.
"It's a changing market," he said. "People tend to telecommute more. They work flexible schedules. A lot of people don't necessarily go to one office."
Golden Gate Transit canceled Route 90, a public route making five trips between Sonoma Valley and San Francisco's Financial District, in 2003 because of declining ridership, Downing said.
The Valley of the Moon club still has enough riders to exceed Golden Gate Transit's minimum standards for operating a route. But Downing said there's been no talk of resurrecting Route 90 or increasing the subsidy the district gives the commute club.
"We don't have more resources to put more subsidy into that," Downing said. "We've got a deficit now like every transit system. That would be taking money from someone else."
Route 38 operated by Sonoma County Transit is another option for Sonoma Valley commuters. That route extends from Oakmont in Santa Rosa to San Rafael, where people can transfer onto a Golden Gate Transit bus for trips to San Francisco.
But Chapin said the route departs too late in the morning and arrives too late in the evening for club members.
Sonoma Councilwoman Joanne Sanders, a member of the Golden Gate Bridge district's board of directors, said she commutes to meetings on a Route 38 bus and only once has there been another passenger aboard.
Her experience helped prompt the Sonoma City Council to unanimously support a resolution in April encouraging county transit planners to abandon Route 38 and spend the money on alternatives.
"My frustration is that there is public transit that has very low ridership that is costing $115,000 a year," Sanders said. "And there's the commute club with 25 people in need of transportation."
Bryan Albee, Sonoma County's transit systems manager, acknowledged Route 38 is a "low-ridership" route that he said averages 15 to 20 daily riders. He could not provide a breakdown for how many of those riders go from Sonoma to San Rafael.
Albee said the county cannot give money to the commute club because those funds are earmarked for public transportation. Instead, he advocates for changes to Route 38 to try to better accommodate the needs of displaced club members.
"We need to survey the riders we have to see how that impacts them," he said. "Hopefully we can find a time that works for everyone."
That still would mean the loss of a direct link between Sonoma Valley and San Francisco.
Chapin said some club members are hoping to create van pools to serve their needs. But he said those alternatives wouldn't serve people who simply want to hop aboard a bus and head to the city for the day.
"I get phone calls from people all the time who are looking to come into San Francisco to see their dentist or go shopping for the day. You lose that ability," he said.
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