San Bruno B.A.R.T.

  Rush hour on weekdays brings a stark contrast between the neighboring Hillsdale and Belmont Caltrain stations.

  At San Mateo's Hillsdale station, the parking lot is jammed, and the platform buzzes as passengers stream into and out of the express trains that regularly stop there. At the Belmont station, less than two miles south, hundreds of parking spaces sit vacant, and most trains whiz by without pausing.

  Next month, Caltrain will launch a service it hopes will even things out a bit. No, the Belmont station won't be getting any Baby Bullet stops. But it will get free parking and a free shuttle from there to Hillsdale.

  The shuttle will run from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and from 4:15 to 7:30 p.m. in both directions. The ride should be about five to 10 minutes, and will be timed to meet each train that stops in Hillsdale but not Belmont, Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said.

  The pilot program is a nod to Belmont officials and residents who have complained that service in their city has dropped off since Caltrain began running the Baby Bullet express trains in 2004.

  "This makes it a little easier for a Belmont resident to catch the Baby Bullet in either direction," said Belmont City Manager Jack Crist.

  For Caltrain, it's also an attempt to ease the parking crunch at Hillsdale, its most heavily used station in San Mateo County.

  Belmont will be the only station on the Peninsula to offer free parking, Weinberg said. Parking at Hillsdale and many other stations is $2, with a maximum stay of 24 hours.

  Weinberg said the shuttle won't cost much to operate, with some of the money coming from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. Caltrain is budgeting $30,000 for the service in its revised budget for the 2008 fiscal year.

  Regular Caltrain rider Dana Smith, who commutes from Mountain View to his job as an auto mechanic in Belmont, called the shuttle "a great idea." He has to time his commute precisely because only one train per hour stops at Belmont, whereas Hillsdale sees up to four per hour at peak times.

  "Once in a while I screw up and get up late, and then I really need an express train," Smith said.

  Belmont Council Member Bill Dickenson, who advocated for the shuttle service, said he'll also keep pushing for more trains to stop in Belmont. He called the shuttle "a small step that's hopefully the beginning of bigger steps to come."

  The shuttle service begins March 3, the same day Caltrain debuts a new schedule that adds two trains per weekday in each direction.

E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.