Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply Santa Cruz METRO, provides bus service throughout

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the San ...

. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Santa Cruz METRO also operates the Highway 17 Express service for

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 ...

between the city of Santa Cruz and

San Jose 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 partnership with

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 ...

and the

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a Special district (United States), special district responsible for public transit services, Congestion management agenc ...

History

Highway 17 Express bus at San Jose Diridon, June 2018

Santa Cruz METRO was created in 1968 as a special district within Santa Cruz County with taxing authority. 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

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. In 2011 fixed route service was severely cut then restored mere months later. In 2012 Santa Cruz METRO received grant funding to construct the Judy K. Souza Operations Facility.

Year Round Routes

*Route 4 – Harvey West/Emeline *Route 10 – UCSC via Main Gate – High *Route 17 – Highway 17 Express *Route 18 – UCSC via Main Gate – Mission *Route 19 – UCSC via West Gate – Bay *Route 20 – UCSC via Main Gate – Delaware/Western *Route 22 – UCSC via Main Gate – Almar/Bay *Route 35 – Highway 9/Scotts Valley *Route 42 – Davenport/Bonny Doon *Route 55 – Cabrillo – Rio Del Mar *Route 66 – Live Oak/17th *Route 68 – Broadway/Portola *Route 69A/69W – Capitola/Cabrillo/Airport *Route 71 – Soquel/Freedom *Route 72 – Green Valley – Hospital *Route 72W – Green Valley – Corralitos *Route 74S – Pajaro Valley High School/Hospital *Route 75 – Green Valley – Wheelock *Route 79 – East Lake *Route WC – Watsonville Circulator *Route 91X – Cabrillo Express
ScMETRO D60LF

Routes operating only during UCSC terms

*Route 15 – UCSC via Laurel West

Discontinued Routes

*Route 1 – University *Route 1B – University/Lower Bay *Route 1H – University/High *Route 1L – University/Laurel *Route 1W – University/Walnut *Route 1Y – University Shuttle *Route 2 – Western Drive *Route 3A – Mission/Delaware *Route 3B – Mission/Natural Bridges *Route 3C – Mission/Lighthouse *Route 4 – Harvey West *Route 5 – Delavega *Route 6 – Seabright *Route 7 – Beach *Route 7N – Beach Night *Route 8 – Emeline *Route 9 – Stroke Center *Route 11 – UC/Westside *Route 12 – UCSC/East Side Direct *Route 13 – UCSC via Walnut *Route 20D – UCSC via Delaware *Route 22 – UCSC/Coastal Science Campus *Route 27X – UCSC Express *Route 30 – Graham/Scotts Valley *Route 31 – Scotts Valley via Highway 17 *Route 33 – Lompico SLV/Felton Faire *Route 34 – South Felton *Route 36 – Valley/Santa Cruz Express *Route 51 – Soquel/Clares *Route 52 – Capitola/Soquel *Route 54 – Aptos/La Selva *Route 54A – Aptos *Route 56 – Depot Hill *Route 56 – La Selva *Route 57 – Capitola *Route 58 – Park Avenue *Route 60A/B – Soquel *Route 61 – Dominican *Route 62 – Dominican/17th *Route 63 – Dominican *Route 65 – Live Oak via 30th *Route 67 – Live Oak via East Cliff *Route 69 – 41st Avenue *Route 69C – Cabrillo *Route 69N – Cabrillo Night *Route 70 – Santa Cruz/Cabrillo *Route 73 – Airport/Buena Vista *Route 74 – Shady Oaks *Route 76 – Bay Village *Route 77 – Industrial *Route 80 – Westridge Drive *Route 81 – Capitola Mall/Watsonville *Route 88 – Armory Shuttle *Route 93 – Watsonville Express

Metro Bus Fleet

References

External links

Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District

United Transportation Union Local 23
represents SCMTD bus operators.
Santa Cruz Metro routes and descriptions

Local 521 – Santa Cruz METRO

SEIU Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

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