Stanford Marguerite Shuttle

Buses are such a pain now. Used to be great but never stop when they’re supposed to. Always late for my train

I appreciate that it’s a free service but find it extremely unreliable, particularly for routes like RP or VA that rub less often. I’ve been late to meetings or to clinics countless times because some of the shuttles show up late or not at all. Faculty and staff are encouraged to use public transportation to alleviate the on campus parking shortage, but we need a reliable system. There doesn’t appear to be any accountability to passengers.

Appreciate the marguerite very much but please change the time for the shuttle that is supposed to depart from the Oval at 1:49 and arrive at Caltrain at 2:00. It never arrives there at 2 and has caused me to miss the 2:05 train several times. Thanks.

Just started a new job here and was parked in the visitor parking garage. Left something in my car and felt like taking the shuttle back to the hospital. I think it’s a great resource for patients and families to get around hospital campus. The shuttle is clean and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Would definitely recommend I feel like there is always one around.

While I feel this is a great option for transportation around campus, I work near this office and interact with employees regularly. Sadly, I am regularly hit on by men old enough to be my father which makes me both disgusted and uncomfortable, and doesn’t make it all I wonderful to do MY job. Some comments I’ve received include «hey honey when you cleaning my car,» «work it girl,» and «you’re so beautiful I wish I wasn’t married.» What. The. F***.
Not only are the male employees creepy and don’t know that they sound like a predator, they also use the women’s bathroom which I unfortunately have to share. They consistently leave the toilet seat up, leave piss all over the floor and toilet, and other nasty things. One day the lock was broken and The door had a please knock first sign. I got walked in on my a male employee twice that day. It’s sick. It’s unsettling that no one seems to care about the class or hygiene of these employees. Oh well. I guess I just have to deal with it.

Reduce your carbon footprint with this FREE shuttle service! The drivers are always friendly and helpful if you get lost. There are plenty of different lines to get you around campus, to CalTrain, and to the mall. It’s also great because you don’t have to keep finding parking when you want to get across campus.

Open to public. I sometimes use to commute when my bike got a flat or somebody picks me up after work.
There are many routes. Wifi available in the bus.
Although it’s slow, it’s better than nothing.
I wish SE ran in a.m. on weekdays.

MC-​Never on time. Never. Not once, even if the boss is there in the morning at the train station.
DO NOT COUNT ON THE SCHEDULE OR 15 MIN INTERVAL-​at least when it come to the MC.
Oh btw, they need a bigger shuttle or faster intervals for the AFTERNOON MC.
1 star since it’s free.
Picked us up this morning at 7:58am which is when we should get to the fourth stop.
Yesterday the 5:01p shuttle came at 5:09p causing multiple people to miss caltrains both ways.
Yesterday the 4:51p shuttle came at 4:58 causing multiple people to run to the other side of the caltrain platform, only to miss their train by seconds.
Seriously…could you tell the drivers 5 minutes earlier than the public? That way they might get there 5 minutes late instead of 8 – 10.
Thanksssssss.

The free shuttle service at Stanford. I take it every day and while it is almost always running a little or very late, it still gets the job done.
The shuttles are clean, the drivers are friendly and the routes are well planned out and can take you pretty much anywhere you are looking to go on the Stanford campus!
Najiba is an awesome driver! Thanks, Stanford, for this awesome service!

I’m a big fan of Unilocaling transit whenever possible.
This shuttle was twenty minutes late (unheard of in my experience in private shuttles) but ended up working out since the 522 is never on time and I was connecting from it.
The transit.511 directions were incredibly confusing (and inaccurate) and the bus sign is fairly hidden from view by another sign but the driver was polite and helpful and I got where I needed to go on time.
Be aware that the «Live» VTA they tout isn’t actually updated yet for this shuttle. So beyond waiting at the stop, you will have no idea when the next shuttle might show.
All in all it helped me out today, but if I had to use this daily I’d go crazy.

Stanford has a huge campus so it’s wonderful to have this complementary shuttle that will take you around campus. The shuttle includes wifi, bike racks, and newspapers. As other reviewers have noted, the marguerite service has shifted a bit over the years so it’s not as convenient but for the most part, if you can time it right, you can get to any destination within 10 – 15 minutes during the weekday (weekend service is limited).
Drivers are nice and friendly, and for the most part safe. It’s a free shuttle service so you really can’t complain!

Marguerite gets the job done. We used to take it from campus to the Stanford Shopping Center but hated how it skipped shifts unpredictably. I think this has improved in the last few years. It runs pretty frequently and timely from the Palo Alto Caltrain station to Tresidder Union on campus, so consider this an option for getting around Stanford if you don’t have a car handy.

I’ve used this service for years. The best parts are that it tends to be on time and that there are bike racks on the front of the buses. Unfortunately the drivers must navigate roads filled with undergraduates on bicycles who think they are immortal. I’ve seen some close calls, but the drivers get serious kudos for being able to drive in that environment all day.
The drivers tend to be helpful and friendly, though some of them don’t speak excellent English. There are a few routes I get a bit car-​sick on, but that is due to the twisty roads and frequent stopping-​accelerating.
The routes change, especially if there is construction going on. Make sure you check to see what is running during the summer and holidays. I’ve waited for shuttles that weren’t going to come for days before.

This is a great free service with lines that cater not only toward students but also working professionals. The RP and V lines run regularly during morning and afternoon rush hours and are reliable (I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes). The buses probably have half or two– thirds professionals riding them during that time. The buses also go to useful places like the VA Hospital, and unlike some of the campus-​geared shuttles, run during the summer and on school holidays. The buses are timed with Caltrain arrivals and the drivers are told to wait if theres a train arriving a minute or two later than usual. Overall, I’ve been really happy with this service, which makes my commute easy and convenient.

Best transportation around campus
And, they are «clean» to our environment.

A free shuttle bus that runs around the Stanford campus and to other local destinations like the Palo Alto Caltrain and grocery stores in Mountain View. We had something similar at my university called Saferide, except unlike that, which nearly killed my friends and me a couple times, this actually is a safe ride. The drivers are friendly and for the most part very cautious, responsible drivers who don’t speed. They changed the schedules a bit this summer and it is now less convenient for me, but it still goes from right near my apartment complex to the central part of Stanford. For the most part it comes within 5 minutes of when it says it will. Its not perfect, but its decent for a free shuttle & it makes getting to Stanford much easier for me, since I’m not able to park on campus.
My biggest complaint is that even if you ring the «stop requested» bell well in advance of your stop, they frequently fail to stop and then sometimes you have to remind them AND stand up AND start yelling before they finally stop, several blocks away from where you wanted them to. This has happened to me several times, always on the SLAC route.

With a name like «Marguerite» you can’t go wrong with free transportation in the Stanford, Palo Alto and Menlo Park areas. The shuttle has a front 2 slot bike rack and its a nice looking bus.
5 stars… how can you complain about a free ride if you need it and can use it in the areas it travels.

Stanford campus is so big that it has its own bus lines. The buses are free and run all day. If you need to get from one end of campus to another, the Marguerite can get you there.
Don’t have the schedule? Don’t want to wait outside and hope the bus is coming soon? There’s the ability to track the buses online in real-​time to see how close they are. On the web if you go to:
you can track the buses and see their routes. If you have an iPhone you can down the iStanford application to track the buses too! The Marguerite is great!

How can you beat free.
Come on, this is a gem of a service.
If you are in the Stanford, Palo Alto, Menlo Park area, you know Marguerite. It runs often but the reliability isn’t that reliable so don’t expect on time movements.
Not as fast as driving, not as fast as biking but faster than walking. So smile, sit down and leave the driving to them.

It’s free and runs often enough to be useful. When I’m feeling lazy coming home from the train, I put my bike on the rack (that’s nice, too), and sit patiently inside, minorly annoyed at how we wait at the station for no one (what are we, Paul McCartney?) and at myself for my two cardinal sins of sloth and inefficiency (it’s, average-​case, 15 minutes faster to bike from Cal Ave than bus from Palo Alto).
It kind of sucks that the schedules are completely worthless, and that they don’t time stuff around the trains (e.g. I hate it when the bus gets there just as a train is leaving), but it’s understandable. Sometimes it even goes pretty far — like San Antonio on the weekends. All in all it’s a great service.
But mostly I’m writing this review to share a story. So it’s 7:45 PM the night Texas beat Stanford in March Madness. That morning I had decided to show my support at work, so I’m wearing a Sixth Man t-​shirt and a Stanford baseball hat. But while I am a fan I also am cold, and i am cold first. I’m also somewhat saddened by the whomping, so I’m covering up the shirt with a hoodie. Still, I’m wearing the hat.
I walked onto the bus, and I am one of two people on the bus. The other guy? Wearing a Texas hat. I stare at him for about 2 seconds, registering that, yeah, it’s a Texas hat. The guy sees me, immediately takes off his hat, and puts it away.
Why did he do this? Well, it could be that he recently watched that Sopranos episode (Season 1) where Tony tells the dude in the restaurant «Take your hat off» (The dude, indignant, nonetheless obliges, as if he had a choice). After all, I am Italian and EXTREMELY menacing. Or perhaps my anger and hatred was fearsome. Probably not, though. Probably, the fucker felt guilty, knowing he had his abandoned his boy and drank the wrong milkshake — er, abandoned his team. And now he’s probably on the phone with the Lopez twins, begging them for mercy. As well he should be.
So yeah. This one’s for you, girlfriend, who tells me I look stupid in hats and that they’re for 12 year-​olds. Today, my baseball cap served society. I’m wearing it to bed tonight.