Overview
- Caltrans has circulated new scenarios for high-speed freeway buses and confirmed the research package is submitted but not yet funded.
- The concept calls for buses in separated freeway lanes with purpose-built stations, and one scenario pegs San Francisco–Los Angeles at about 3 hours 12 minutes at roughly 120 mph.
- Agency reviews note most U.S. freeways are engineered for about 85 mph, so higher speeds would require dedicated lanes, major redesigns, and systems like automated driving, stronger braking, and vehicle-to-everything communications.
- Planners named Interstate 5, Interstate 80, and U.S. 101 as interregional candidates, with State Route 99 flagged as a likely first segment linking Central Valley cities such as Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, and Sacramento.
- Officials say any bus network would complement existing and planned rail rather than replace it, including the state’s in-progress high-speed rail segment.