I have a friend in Petaluma who can't wait fr this to start, so the can take the ferry into the city more often. Traffic on the North Bay portions of the 101 and many major arterials (given the lack of additional parallel or connecting freeways)sucks, and is getting measurably worse, .
in Marin over time.

The distance this "hybrid" commuter rail/transit operation covers, the speeds, and the mixed environment all dictated an FRA compliant vehicle. I believe that this was a good choice, although for a number of operational and maintenance reasons, might have preferred a loco hauled-train set operation. This will be an interesting state of the art test for more DMU applications around the country, in similar circumstances.

Freight restoration to Cloverdale and eventually to Willits, and the opportunity to tap the potential aggregate traffic, won't hurt that portion of the 101 any, either. And, if they decide to legalize the number one local agricultural commodity, even those North Sonoma and Mendocino County folks might all end up needing to get a real job, like scooping up rock at the quarry, right?