Santa Cruz Transit Looks to Expand

A small transit agency in Northern California is making ambitious expansion plans.

2 minute read

October 4, 2023, 12:00 PM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Aerial view of coastal town of Santa Cruz, California.

Dreamframer / Adobe Stock

In a post on his blog, Human Transit, Jarrett Walker praises the expanding transit service in Santa Cruz County, California, a coastal area just south of the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Like many US agencies, Santa Cruz Metro had to make cuts during the pandemic to match the service to their shortage of bus drivers. In the last year, though, the pace of hiring has picked up, and the agency can do its first substantial expansion.” As Walker notes, his consultancy was asked to advise Santa Cruz Metro on its expansion plan, which the agency adopted last week.

According to Walker, “Phase 1, now scheduled for implementation this December, will change the network completely.” Unlike the current system, which has no service more frequent than every 30 minutes, the upgraded system will increase both frequencies and improve the timing of connections.

“It’s an especially big change in Watsonville, whose confusing tangle of overlapping hourly routes was especially useless for most trips.  There, service is restructured to put a majority of the population and jobs near half-hourly service, mostly on lines that run through to the other cities to the west.”

The system will restore 15-minute headways on the lines that connect downtown Santa Cruz to the University of California campus. The agency will also simplify and combine certain routes. “Meanwhile, this is just the first phase of a more ambitious expansion that will be discussed with the public soon in hopes of further frequency expansions in 2024.”

Thursday, September 28, 2023 in Human Transit

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Yellow electric school bus with preteen students exiting.

California Invests Additional $5M in Electric School Buses

The state wants to electrify all of its school bus fleets by 2035.

April 25 - Associated Press

City Hall building in Austin, Texas.

Austin Launches $2M Homelessness Prevention Fund

A new grant program from the city’s Homeless Strategy Office will fund rental assistance and supportive services.

April 25 - Spectrum Local News

Brick school building with mid-sized tree on front lawn.

Alabama School Forestry Initiative Brings Trees to Schoolyards

Trees can improve physical and mental health for students and commnity members.

April 25 - Governing