Merced County Transit ("The Bus")

Parent	Transit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County
Founded	1996
Headquarters	1950 Wardrobe Ave Merced, CA 95340
Service area	Merced County, California
Service type	Bus service, Dial-a-Ride Micro Transit
Routes	15[1]
Stops	238
Destinations	Communities of Merced, Atwater, Winton, Livingston, Delhi, Turlock, Dos Palos, Los Banos, Gustine, Planada, and Le Grand
Hubs	Downtown Transportation Center (Transpo), North Merced Transit Center (M Street)
Fleet	Gillig Low Floor, New Flyer XE40, Chevrolet Arboc, Ford Glaval, Ford Starcraft, Dodge Grand Caravan[1]
Annual ridership	1,000,000 [1]
Fuel type	Gasoline, Diesel, Battery Electric
Operator	Transdev[2]
Website	mercedthebus.com

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 Authority of Merced County with daily operations conducted by a private contractor (Transdev).^[3]

History

The Bus was formed in 1996 by consolidating four local transit service providers.^[4]: 29

Merced Transportation Center

Located in the former Southern Pacific railway station at 16th and O Streets in Merced, the downtown transportation center (Transpo Center) serves as the hub for Merced's local, regional and national bus service.^[5] Greyhound provides bus service to Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles. YARTS and VIA Adventures provide bus service to Yosemite National Park. Situated at the same location, the California Welcome Center carries souvenirs, maps, and brochures for visitors, as well as YARTS bus tickets.^[6]

Another transportation center for North Merced was recently constructed on M Street near Bellevue Road which is intended to serve as a park and ride lot for UC Merced students, staff, and visitors to easily connect with The Bus and UC Merced shuttle bus services.

Fleet

The fleet consists fixed-route transit buses (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 Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel heavy-duty buses which range in size from 29' to 40', with a majority being 35', and five New Flyer XE40 Battery Electric heavy-duty buses which are 40' in length. The fixed-route fleet also consists of Chevrolet Arboc Spirit of Mobility cutaway buses for use on local and low ridership routes. Another set of cutaway buses and vans are primarily used to provide ADA Paratransit service throughout the county and Micro Transit service in the city of Los Banos and the westside of the county. They began the greening of their fleet in 2006 with the purchase of 9 "clean air" Orion VII models and planned the construction of a compressed natural gas fueling facility. All CNG buses were later phased out by 2016 and were replaced by a combination of Gillig Clean Diesel buses and a small fleet of Chevrolet Arboc gasoline fueled cutaways.^[1] In late 2019 and early 2020, The Bus was awarded grants to help begin the transition towards a zero-emission fleet. The first wave of five New Flyer XE40 battery electric buses arrived in late June 2023 and began service in early November 2023, with the next wave of four Gillig battery electric buses estimated to begin production in late 2024 with expected delivery and in-service dates expected some time in 2025. The agency is also exploring other zero-emission bus options, including hydrogen, for longer commuter services.

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 and throughout the county, as well as to the city of Turlock in neighboring Stanislaus County. However, the unincorporated community of Hilmar-Irwin which has a combined population of over 5,000 does not to have any of The Bus services, even though it is located within Merced County, along with the community of Snelling.^[7]