Santa Cruz METRO

METRO and Greyhound terminal in downtown Santa Cruz
Headquarters	110 Vernon Street Santa Cruz, California
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 / 36.970917; -122.024944
Daily ridership	8,300 (weekdays, Q3 2023)[1]
Annual ridership	3,097,100 (2022)[2]
Website	scmtd.com

Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply Santa Cruz METRO, provides bus service throughout Santa Cruz County, California. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 3,097,100, or about 8,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.

Santa Cruz METRO also operates the Highway 17 Express service for Amtrak Thruway between the city of Santa Cruz and San Jose Diridon station, in partnership with Amtrak California and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

History

Santa Cruz METRO was created in 1968 as a special district within Santa Cruz County with taxing authority.^[3] 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 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.^[4]

In 2011 fixed route service was severely cut then restored mere months later.^[5]

In 2012 Santa Cruz METRO received grant funding to construct the Judy K. Souza Operations Facility.^[6]

On February 12, 2024, METRO will be relocating from the Pacific Metro Center to the new Riverfront Transit Center, which will serve as a temporary transit center from 2024 to 2026. The existing transit center will be demolished and redeveloped into housing units with a new transit center underneath.^[7]

Routes

• Route 1 – Soquel/ Cabrillo/ Airport
• Route 2 – Capitola/ Cabrillo/ Main
• Route 3A/3B – UCSC/ Capitola Mall/ Live Oak
• Route 4 – Harvey West
• 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 35 – Highway 9/Scotts Valley
• Route 40 – Highway 1 - Davenport
• Route 41 – Empire Grade - Bonny Doon
• Route 42 – Davenport/Bonny Doon
• Route 55 – Cabrillo – Rio Del Mar
• Route 72 – Green Valley – Hospital
• Route 72W – Green Valley – Corralitos
• Route 73 – Soquel/ Freedom/ Cabrillo
• Route 74S – Pajaro Valley High School/Hospital
• Route 75 – Green Valley – Wheelock
• Route 79 – East Lake
• Route 90X – Cabrillo Express^[8]