Golden Gate Transit (GGT) is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It primarily serves Marin County, Sonoma County, and San Francisco, and also provides limited service to Contra Costa County. In , Golden Gate Transit had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Golden Gate Transit is one of three transportation systems owned and operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District; the others are the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Ferry, both of which connect San Francisco and Marin County. Funding for cross-bridge "Transbay" bus service is partially subsidized by Golden Gate Bridge tolls in addition to traditional federal and state sources. GGT operates some bus service within Marin County under contract with Marin Transit. History Golden Gate Transit service began on January 1, 1972, as the culmination of years of work for the Golden Gate Bridge to alleviate traffic congestion, reduce pollution, and take over unprofitable commuter bus service operated by Greyhound. GGT had previously began operating local bus service in Marin County under contract with Marin Transit beginning December 15, 1971. Initial service ran on two corridors in San Francisco: Civic Center routes on Van Ness Avenue and the McAllister/Golden Gate one way pair, and Financial District routes on North Point Street and the Battery/Sansome pair. The system initially operated with 152 buses, including 20 leased buses, out of garages in Novato and Santa Rosa and a temporary facility in San Rafael. A permanent garage opened in San Rafael in 1974, and the facility was expanded in 1987 to house additional administrative staff. Transbay commuter bus service was reduced in 1987 as a result of declining ridership associated with a shift in jobs from San Francisco to Bay Area suburbs. However, that increase in the number of suburban jobs led to the initiation of commuter bus service from Sonoma County to Marin County employment centers in 1990. In 1992, the District and opened the C. Paul Bettini Transit Center in San Rafael (also called the San Rafael Transit Center). The transit station was designed as the hub in a hub-and-spoke local bus system and immediately became GGT's busiest transit station. In 1993, acting on behalf of MTC, GGT began operating service between Marin and Contra Costa counties via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. That same year, the district