Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
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| Headquarters | 110 Vernon Street, Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Service area | Santa Cruz County |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit, express bus service |
| Stations | Amtrak - METRO Center/Pacific Station, 920 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz36°58′15.3″N 122°01′29.8″W / 36.970917°N 122.024944°W |
| Website | scmtd.com |
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply Santa Cruz METRO, provides bus service throughout Santa Cruz County, California.
Santa Cruz METRO also operates the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Highway 17 Express service between Santa Cruz (city) and San Jose Amtrak Station, thanks to a partnership with Amtrak California, Capitol Corridor, and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
Complete transit itineraries between Santa Cruz and San Francisco Bay Area cities and major airports are available from iridethebus.org.
History
Santa Cruz METRO was created in 1968 as a special district within Santa Cruz County with taxing authority.[1] Service was initially to the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Live Oak. Santa Cruz METRO extended service to Watsonville, Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley in 1974.
In 1979, voters approved a measure to change the financing of Santa Cruz METRO from a property tax to a 1/2 cent sales tax.
The Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Highway 17 Express service between Santa Cruz and San Jose started as an emergency bus service after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake closed Highway 17.
A strike in September 2005 lasted for 35 days and stranded up to 23,000 riders.[2]
In 2011 fixed route service was severely cut then restored mere months later.[3]
In 2012 Santa Cruz METRO received grant funding to construct the Judy K. Souza Operations Facility.[4]
Year Round Routes
- Route 3 - Mission/Beach
- Route 4 - Harvey West/Emeline
- Route 4W - Harvey West Weekend
- Route 6 - Broadway/Frederick
- Route 8 - Emeline
- Route 10 - UCSC via High Street
- Route 15 - UCSC via Laurel West
- Route 16 - UCSC via Laurel East
- Route 17- Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Hwy 17 Express: Santa Cruz to San Jose via Scotts Valley
- Route 19 - UCSC via Lower Bay
- Route 20 - UCSC via Westside
- Route 30 - Scotts Valley/Graham Hill
- Route 33 - Lompico SLV/Felton Faire
- Route 34 - South Felton
- Route 35/35A - Santa Cruz to San Lorenzo Valley
- Route 40 - Davenport/North Coast Beaches
- Route 41 - Bonny Doon
- Route 42 - Davenport/Bonny Doon
- Route 54 - Capitola/Aptos/La Selva Beach
- Route 55 - Rio Del Mar
- Route 56 - La Selva
- Route 66 - Live Oak via 17th
- Route 66N - Live Oak Night via 17th
- Route 68 - Live Oak via Broadway/Portola
- Route 69A/69W - Capitola Road/Cabrillo/Santa Cruz/Watsonville
- Route 71 - Santa Cruz/Watsonville
- Route 72 - Corralitos
- Route 74 - Ohlone Parkway/Rolling Hills
- Route 75 - Green Valley
- Route 77 - Civic Plaza/Pajaro
- Route 79 - East Lake
- Route 91X - Commuter Express: Santa Cruz/Watsonville
Routes operating only during UCSC terms
- Route 12 - University/East Side Direct
- Route 15 - University Express
All-Time Roster
References
- ^ "History of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District". Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Retrieved 2008-06-24. [dead link]
- ^ "Strikes halts Santa Cruz bus service, strands 23,000 riders". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
- ^ "Just-enacted METRO route cuts may be revisited: Unexpected revenues may lead to restored services". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
- ^ "Final portion of METROBase pie to break ground Oct. 26". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2012-11-06.