METRO Serves Rising Demand at UCSC with Additional Buses

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO), CA, has secured a fleet of 12 extra-long, articulated buses to meet surging transit demand at the UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) campus. There are currently four, 60-foot articulated buses serving the campus, with six more expected to be put into service by the end of 2023 and two in reserve.

UCSC riders constitute almost 70 percent of METRO’s total ridership systemwide. At the start of the 2023 fall term, METRO carried an average of 13,409 UCSC riders per day. This compares to 10,349 average daily UCSC riders in September 2022—a leap of almost 30 percent.

METRO struck an agreement with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) to purchase 10, 60-foot articulated buses to augment the two METRO-owned articulated buses already serving the campus.

METRO’s articulated buses will be wrapped with images of Monterey Bay wildlife, such as sea lions, kelp forests, and sea jellies, as part of the agency’s One Ride at a Time campaign (ORAT). ORAT gives riders the opportunity to protect the Monterey Bay’s natural resources by simply riding the bus. Thanks to ORAT, every ride on a METRO bus contributes to the agency’s partners in protecting the environment, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Bay of Life Fund.