Merced County Transit, also known as "The Bus", provides public bus transportation services throughout
Merced County
Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...
in the
Central Valley and
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
areas of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Vehicles are owned and maintained by Transit Joint Powers Authority for Merced County with daily operations conducted by a private contractor.
History
The Bus was formed in 1996 by consolidating four local transit service providers.
Merced Transportation Center
Located in the former Southern Pacific railway station, the downtown transportation center serves as the hub for Merced's local, regional and national bus service.
[City of Merced - Visiting Us]
/ref> Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
provides bus service to Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, the 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 Gov ...
, and Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. YARTS
The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System, also known as YARTS, is a public transit bus line based in Merced, California. YARTS provides scheduled service into popular locations within Merced, Mariposa, Mono, Tuolumne, Madera, and Fresn ...
and VIA Adventures provide bus service to Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
. Situated at the same location, the California Welcome Center carries souvenirs, maps, and brochures for visitors, as well as YARTS bus tickets.California Welcome Center - Merced
/ref>
Fleet
The fleet consists fixed-route transit bus
Transit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film
* ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world
* ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...
es (larger heavy-duty buses and smaller cutaway buses) as well as ADA Paratransit and Dial-A-Ride cutaway buses and vans. The fixed-route fleet consists of seven 2011 Gillig Low Floor Diesel 29' coaches which are in the process of being phased out (numbered M-150 through M-156), two 2012 and five 2013 Gillig Low Floor Diesel 40' coaches (M-157 and M-158 are 2012 models and M-159 through M-163 are 2013 models), six 2015 Gillig Diesel 35' coaches (numbered M-164 through M-169), and four 2017 Gillig Diesel 35' coaches (numbered M-170 through M-173) which replaced four 2003 Gillig Phantom
The Gillig Phantom is a series of buses that was produced by an American manufacturer Gillig Corporation in Hayward, California. The successor to the long-running Gillig Transit Coach model line, the Phantom marked the transition of Gillig from ...
s that were retired in late 2017, and seven 2021 Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel 35' coaches (numbered 3501 through 3507) which are replacements for the seven 2011 29' models. The fixed-route fleet also consists of 19 2014 and 2016 Chevrolet Arboc Spirit of Mobility cutaway buses (2014 models numbered M-419 through M-429 and 2016 models numbered M-430 through M-437) for use on local and low ridership routes. They began the greening
Greening is the process of transforming living environments, and also artifacts such as a space, a lifestyle or a brand image, into a more environmentally friendly version (i.e. 'greening your home' or 'greening your office'). The act of green ...
of their fleet in 2006 with the purchase of 9 "clean air" Orion VII
The Orion VII was a line of low-floor transit buses available in 30' rigid, 35' rigid, and 40' rigid lengths manufactured by Orion Bus Industries between 2001 and 2013 in three generations. The conventional powered buses, either with longitudinal ...
models and planned the construction of a compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
fueling facility. These buses were later replaced in 2015 by a combination of six Gillig Diesel buses and a small fleet of Chevrolet Arboc gasoline fueled cutaways.
Services
15 fixed bus routes and 2 on-demand services are provided 7 days a week (with the exception of the UC route which is Weekdays only) operate within the city of Merced
Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...
and throughout the county, as well as the city of Turlock in neighboring Stanislaus County. However, the unincorporated community of Hilmar-Irwin which has a combined population of over 5,000 appears not to have any of The Bus services, even though it is located within Merced County, along with the community of Snelling.[THE BUS: Route maps and bus schedules]
References
External links
*
{{Merced, California
Bus transportation in California
Transportation in Merced County, California
Merced County Transit
Merced County Transit, also known as "The Bus", provides public bus transportation services throughout Merced County in the Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley areas of California. Vehicles are owned and maintained by Transit Joint Powers Author ...