SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz METRO on Thursday announced free fares countywide for the first two weeks of its fall schedule.
The free fares will be offered Sept. 15-29 on all services including Highway 17 and ParaCruz. Service to the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville will be free during this time, but only the 79F will offer free service to the fairgrounds on Sept. 14, the first day of the annual expo.
METRO is offering this two-week free fare promotion to encourage ridership and allow riders to get acquainted with the new fall service changes, according to a release from METRO. Due to a shortage of bus operators nationwide and at METRO, the agency is making temporary route modifications on existing routes.
Temporary changes to the fall service include:
• Route 4 will operate only between Santa Cruz METRO Center and METRO Admin Offices on Vernon Street, serving the River Street corridor and Harvey West area in both directions. The Emeline Complex and Grant Street segment of Route 4 will be served hourly by Route 35 in both directions. Both segments will operate during the same hours of service as the current Route 4.
• Route 35 will operate as Route 35E when serving the Emeline Complex. Route 35E trips between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. will end at Big Basin Way and Highway 9 in Boulder Creek and will not serve Country Club during these hours.
• Route 22 will be temporarily suspended. Route 20 will provide service from UCSC and Metro Center to the Coastal Science Campus and the Seymour Center in both directions on every trip.
• Clockwise direction trips on the Watsonville Circulator have been temporarily suspended. Alternate service is available in the counter-clockwise direction and on Routes 71, 72 and 75.
• Minor schedule changes will also be made on Routes 18, 20, 35, 40, 42, 72, 72W, 75, 79 and the Watsonville Circulator to improve service reliability, as well as Route 35 “School Term” trips to match changes in bell times.
Online
To view the Santa Cruz METRO fall service changes, visit scmtd.com/en/metro-news-bulletins.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
