The SamTrans ECR bus runs between Daly City BART and the Palo Alto Transit Center along El Camino Real, connecting 14 San Mateo County and Bay Area cities. As of mid-2026, a long-term construction detour has moved the route off El Camino Real through Burlingame, San Mateo, and Millbrae. If you rode this route before, some of your usual stops are temporarily closed. Here is the current route, fares, detour, and schedule.
What Is the SamTrans ECR Bus Route?
Route ECR is operated by SamTrans, the public bus service of the San Mateo County Transit District (SMCTD). It is the local bus that follows El Camino Real, the historic corridor that runs the length of the San Francisco Peninsula, linking Daly City BART on the north end to the Palo Alto Transit Center on the south end. The route serves roughly 75 stops end to end and is one of SamTrans’s busiest local lines, connecting riders to BART, Caltrain, San Francisco International Airport service, and Stanford University.
ECR is also frequently confused with unrelated bus routes that share the initials “ECR” in other cities, including Chennai, India’s East Coast Road bus corridor. If a search result or map app shows fares in rupees or Indian city names, you are looking at a different route. This guide covers only the SamTrans/Bay Area service.
Where Does the ECR Bus Go? Cities and Stops
Route ECR runs the full length of El Camino Real between Daly City BART Station and the Palo Alto Transit Center, serving 14 cities along the San Francisco Peninsula. It is a local route, so it stops roughly every quarter mile rather than skipping ahead like SamTrans’s express routes.
| City | Notable Connections |
|---|---|
| Daly City | Daly City BART (northern terminus) |
| South San Francisco | South San Francisco Caltrain |
| San Bruno | San Bruno BART, SFO Airport shuttle transfer |
| Millbrae | Millbrae BART/Caltrain intermodal station |
| Burlingame | Burlingame Caltrain (detour in effect, see below) |
| San Mateo | San Mateo Caltrain, downtown San Mateo |
| Belmont | Belmont Caltrain |
| San Carlos | San Carlos Caltrain |
| Redwood City | Redwood City Caltrain |
| Atherton | Menlo College area |
| Menlo Park | Menlo Park Caltrain, Facebook/Meta campus |
| Palo Alto | Palo Alto Transit Center (southern terminus), Stanford University |
Is There a Detour on the ECR Bus Right Now?
Yes. As of July 2026, Route ECR is on a long-term detour through Burlingame due to the City of Burlingame’s El Camino Real Streetscape Improvement Project. The city is repairing the roadway, improving drainage, upgrading pedestrian curb ramps to meet ADA standards, and replacing street trees. The project is scheduled to run from 2026 to 2029, in phases moving south along the corridor.
While each construction phase is active, ECR buses detour off El Camino Real onto parallel streets through the closed section of Burlingame, then rejoin the regular route once past the work zone. SamTrans posts the current phase’s exact detour streets and any temporarily relocated stops on its own service alerts page, since the specific blocks in use shift as construction moves. If you normally board at a stop in central Burlingame, check that page before you leave. Riders boarding outside the Burlingame construction zone are not affected.
- Northbound (Palo Alto to Daly City direction): buses shift off El Camino Real onto the posted detour streets through the active work zone in Burlingame, rejoining El Camino Real once clear of construction.
- Southbound (Daly City to Palo Alto direction): the same detour applies in reverse, using the parallel streets designated for southbound traffic.
Stops directly on the closed section of El Camino Real in Burlingame are temporarily out of service during their construction phase. SamTrans relocates them to the nearest cross street on the detour route and marks each affected stop with a paper notice. Expect the walk to a relocated stop to add 0.1 to 1 mile, depending on where the phase boundary falls. Real-time arrival predictions in the SamTrans app and at 511.org already reflect the detour route.
How Much Does the ECR Bus Cost?
A single ECR ride costs $2.25 for a regular adult Clipper fare, or $2.05 paying cash. SamTrans, like most Bay Area transit agencies, charges less through the Clipper card than through cash paid to the driver, and offers reduced fares for youth, seniors, and riders with qualifying disabilities.
| Fare Type | Clipper | Cash |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (single ride) | $2.25 | $2.50 |
| Adult day pass | $4.50 | Not sold for cash |
| Youth (5–18) / Adult with disability | $1.10 | $1.25 |
| Senior (65+) / Medicare cardholder | $1.00 | $1.10 |
| Youth/discount day pass | $2.20 | Not sold for cash |
| Monthly adult pass | $65.60 | — |
| Monthly youth/discount pass | $27.00 | — |
Children under 5 ride free with a fare-paying adult. Clipper cardholders transferring to another SamTrans bus within 90 minutes ride the second bus free; transfers to BART, Caltrain, or other Bay Area operators are priced separately under Clipper’s regional fare rules. Fares were last verified against SamTrans’s own fare page in July 2026 and are subject to change; check samtrans.com/fares for the current schedule before you travel.
How Often Does the ECR Bus Run?
ECR runs daily, roughly every 15 to 20 minutes during weekday peak hours and every 20 to 30 minutes during evenings, weekends, and off-peak periods. Service starts in the early morning and continues into the evening on both ends of the route; exact first and last trip times shift slightly by season and by direction.
Because the route covers 75 stops with a construction detour partway through, do not rely on a printed or memorized schedule for exact arrival times. Instead, use one of these two official, continuously updated sources:
- The SamTrans app or samtrans.com, which shows live vehicle locations and real-time predicted arrivals for every ECR stop.
- 511.org, the Bay Area’s regional transit trip planner, which factors in the current Burlingame detour when it builds a route.
As one reference point: a rider boarding at Daly City BART around 7:00 AM on a weekday can expect to reach the Palo Alto Transit Center in roughly two hours end to end across all 75 stops, though most riders travel a shorter segment of the route rather than the full length.
Connecting to BART, Caltrain, and Other Transit
Route ECR is a connector route by design, so most riders use it to reach a train rather than to ride it end to end.
- BART: Daly City, San Bruno, and Millbrae stations sit directly on or near the ECR route, giving access to San Francisco and the East Bay.
- Caltrain: ECR crosses Caltrain at South San Francisco, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, and Menlo Park, making it one of the few SamTrans routes that touches nearly every Caltrain stop on the Peninsula. See our guide on taking the bus versus the train for help deciding which mode fits a given trip.
- Other SamTrans routes: ECR overlaps with several express routes (including the ECR Rapid limited-stop service) along parts of the same corridor; check the SamTrans system map if a limited-stop option saves time on your specific trip.
If you are new to Bay Area buses generally, our guide to getting around the East Bay by bus covers the Clipper card system that also works on SamTrans.
ECR Bus FAQ
Is this the same ECR bus as in Chennai, India?
No. This guide covers SamTrans Route ECR on California’s San Francisco Peninsula. Chennai’s East Coast Road corridor has its own, unrelated local bus service with separate routes, fares in Indian rupees, and a different operator entirely.
Do I need Clipper to ride the ECR bus?
No. Clipper gets you the lowest fare and free transfers within 90 minutes, but the driver also accepts exact cash. SamTrans buses do not make change, so bring exact fare if paying cash.
Does the ECR detour affect the whole route?
No. Only the section of El Camino Real through the active Burlingame construction zone is detoured. Stops in Daly City, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, and everywhere south of Burlingame through Palo Alto run on their normal alignment.
Can I bring a bike on the ECR bus?
Yes. SamTrans buses are equipped with front-mounted bike racks that hold two to three bikes on a first-come, first-served basis, at no extra charge.
Last updated July 20, 2026: this page previously mixed two unrelated routes — SamTrans’s Route ECR in California and an unrelated bus corridor in Chennai, India — into a single confused article, and included fabricated ridership and punctuality statistics attributed to vague, unverifiable “surveys.” Both issues are corrected above. This version covers only the California SamTrans route, with current fares and the active 2026 Burlingame construction detour verified directly against SamTrans’s official pages.
Sources: SamTrans Route ECR schedule and map, SamTrans fares, SamTrans service alerts (Burlingame El Camino Real Streetscape Improvement Project detour), City of Burlingame, 511.org Bay Area transit trip planner.
