The Highway 17 Express is an

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

route provided by a consortium of entities that provides regional service between San Jose and Santa Cruz County in the South Bay of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. The service is so called because it travels on

California State Route 17 State Route 17 (SR 17, locally known as Highway 17) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from State Route 1 in Santa Cruz to I-280 and I-880 in San Jose. SR 17, a freeway and expressway, carries substantial ...

. It is operated by the

Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply Santa Cruz METRO, provides bus service throughout Santa Cruz County, California. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Santa Cruz METRO also operates the Hig ...

History

Highway 17 Express bus at San Jose Diridon, June 2018

A temporary commuter express bus service started after landslides from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake closed Highway 17. At this time the route spanned from Scotts Valley to Santa Clara. In response to the needs of a loyal group of riders, as well a UC Santa Cruz students, Santa Cruz Metro continued the service after Highway 17 reopened. When service was consolidated with

in 2004, the route was extended to the metro center in downtown Santa Cruz and service expanded to 365 days a year. Caltrans anticipated a ridership of 7,000 riders per month at the end of 2004. In December 2007, free wifi service was added to all Highway 17 Express buses. In February 2015, Santa Cruz Metro reported 31,102 total riders, 1,239 on the average weekday, for Highway 17 Express.

Service

Bikerack for three bicycles on Highway 17 Express Bus

The bus service is a consolidation of corridor-based commuter service between Santa Cruz and job centers in the

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

. It passes through the State Route 17 communities of the Santa Cruz Mountains including Scotts Valley, Redwood Estates, Summit, and Pasatiempo and is combined with feeder and delivery service for several

Amtrak California Amtrak California is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak commuter rail routes in Californiathe ''Capitol Corridor'', the ''Pacific Surfliner'', and the ...

lines serving

Diridon Station San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor ...

in San Jose, a regional intermodal hub where passengers may transfer to VTA buses or light rail in addition to

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San J ...

Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...

, and also many regional Amtrak routes. During the week the service extends beyond Diridon Station with direct service to downtown San Jose; on weekends it terminates at the station. One-way fare is $7.00, with half-price fare available for seniors and disabled riders. A day pass that is also good for all VTA bus and light rail as well as Santa Cruz Metro buses is available for $14.00. The VTA EcoPass Express is good for travel on the Highway 17 Express service. Support for purchasing tickets using the Clipper card is not currently supported. Most buses are equipped with bike racks capable of holding three bicycles. Currently, up to two bicycles are allowed inside the bus in the area used to secure disabled passengers contained within mobility devices, at the coach operator's discretion, if space is available.

References

External links

Santa Cruz Metro website
* {{San Francisco Bay Area Public Transit Bus transportation in California Public transportation in Santa Cruz County, California Public transportation in Santa Clara County, California