Santa Cruz Metro Board of Directors approve significant bus service improvements

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (Santa Cruz Metro) Board of Directors approved a package of significant bus service improvements as part of the first phase of Reimagine Metro. The changes will go into effect in December.

The board decision came immediately after a public hearing on the Phase 1 long-term bus-improvement plan. A Reimagine Metro Phase 2 hearing and board review are expected later this year.

“The goal of Reimagine Metro is to increase the amount of bus service provided in Santa Cruz County, making it more reliable and relevant to our community’s needs,” said Santa Cruz Metro Board Chair, Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson. “Everyone’s lives and travel patterns have changed in our post-pandemic world and we want to create a bus network that is useful and attractive to as many people as possible.”

The Reimagine Metro Phase 1 improvements will increase bus service that include:

• Higher frequency service in areas with high transit demand.
• Simpler, more direct routes, especially in the city of Watsonville.
• Better transfers with shorter wait times and no additional fares.
• Some changes to route numbers and names.
• Some changes to bus stop locations and which streets have bus service.

Later this year, the Santa Cruz Metro Board of Directors will review a second round of bus service changes that could go into effect in April 2024 that include:

• Increased, 15-minute frequency on three cross-county corridors serving South and Mid-County (Soquel, Capitola and Live Oak).
• Service extension from the east side of Santa Cruz through downtown to the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) campus, creating a frequent, one-seat ride from Cabrillo College or the Capitola Mall all the way to UCSC.
• A new, frequent route connecting Watsonville to Cabrillo College via Freedom Boulevard and Airport Road.

 Santa Cruz Metro estimates all changes from Reimagine Metro will nearly double transit ridership from the current 3.5 million trips per year to 7 million trips per year. This increase in ridership will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by lessening the amount of personal vehicles on the roads and support Santa Cruz Metro’s mission to provide environmentally sustainable transportation to Santa Cruz County.