The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply the Santa Cruz Metro, provides bus service throughout Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...

.

Santa Cruz Metro also operates the Highway 17 Express

Highway 17 Express

The Highway 17 Express is an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach 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...

 bus service between Santa Cruz (city) and San Jose, thanks to a partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is a special-purpose district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California, United States...

 and Amtrak California

Amtrak California

Amtrak California is a brand name used by the Caltrans Division of Rail for all state-supported Amtrak rail routes within the U.S. State of California...

.

Complete transit itineraries between Santa Cruz and San Francisco Bay Area cities and major airports are available from iridethebus.org.

History

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. 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 Metro from a property tax to a 1/2 cent sales tax.

The Highway 17 Express

Highway 17 Express

The Highway 17 Express is an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach 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...

 bus 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.

Year Round Routes

• Route 3 - Mission/Natural Bridges
• Route 4 - Harvey West/Emeline
• Route 7 - Beach/Lighthouse [Since Fall 2010, this route has been merged with Route 3]
• Route 9 - Prospect Heights
• Route 10 - University via High Street
• Route 16 - University via Laurel East
• Route 17- Hwy 17 Express
• Route 19 - University via Lower Bay
• Route 20 - University via Westside
• Route 31 - Scotts Valley/Santa Cruz via Hwy 17
• Route 32 - Graham Hill
• Route 35/35A - Santa Cruz to San Lorenzo Valley
• Route 40 - Davenport/North Coast Beaches
• Route 41 - Bonny Doon
• Route 42 - Davenport/Bonny Doon
• Route 53 - Capitola/Dominican
• Route 54 - Capitola/Aptos/La Selva Beach
• Route 55 - Rio Del Mar
• Route 56 - La Selva
• Route 66 - Live Oak via 17th
• Route 68 - Live Oak via Broadway/Portola
• Route 69/69A - Capitola Road/Cabrillo/Watsonville
• Route 71 - Santa Cruz to Watsonville
• Route 72 - Corralitos
• Route 74 - Ohlone Parkway/Rolling Hills
• Route 75 - Green Valley
• Route 76 - Corralitos/Buena Vista
• Route 79 - East Lake
• Route 88 - Armory Shuttle
• Route 91X - Commuter Express Santa Cruz/Watsonville

Routes Operating Only During UCSC Terms

• Route 12 - University/East Side Direct
• Route 13 - University via Walnut
• Route 15 - University via Laurel West
• Route 27X - University Express

External links

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