Monterey-Salinas Transit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monterey-Salinas Transit
Locale	Monterey County, California
Transit type	Bus
Began operation	1972
Number of lines	36
Daily ridership	4,792,300 (FY 2006)
Operator(s)	Monterey-Salinas Transit Joint Powers Agency

Monterey-Salinas Transit, or MST, provides bus service within Monterey County in California. Service is primarily to the greater Monterey and Salinas areas, but extends as far south as King City and Big Sur and as far north as Watsonville and San Jose. Most lines follow a hub-and-spoke system, originating at the Monterey Transit Plaza or the Salinas Transit Center, though some service also originates from the Edgewater Transit Exchange (in Sand City) and the Marina Transit Exchange. MST serves many local shopping areas, places of employment, tourist sites, government buildings, and residential neighborhoods.

[edit] Fare Structure

Fares are by zone. For passenger convenience, some areas "overlap" multiple zones.

• Peninsula - Includes Carmel, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Rancho, Castroville, Del Rey Oaks, Fort Ord, Laguna Seca, Marina, Mid-Valley, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Sand City, and Seaside.
• Salinas - Includes Castroville, Chualar, Laguna Seca, Marina, Prunedale, and Salinas.
• South County - Includes Big Sur, Carmel Highlands, Chualar, Gonzales, Greenfield, King City, and Soledad.
• North County - Includes Castroville, Marina, Prunedale, and Watsonville.
• San Jose
• Morgan Hill and Gilroy

A one-way, one-zone fare is currently $2.00, with transfers available at an additional $0.25. Discounted fares (approximately half-price) are available to individuals ages 5-18, individuals age 65 or over, and individuals with disabilities. Children age 4 or under ride free. Daily and monthly passes (for either a specific zone or all zones) are available at various locations throughout the county, as are prepaid ticket books.

CSUMB is designated as a fare-free zone; passengers boarding on-campus ride free.

[edit] MST Service

MST currently operates 36 fixed-route lines, numbered mainly as follows:

• 0n and 1n: Peninsula local routes
• 2n: Regional routes
• 3n: Laguna Seca special event service
• 4n: Salinas local routes
• 5n: Long-haul routes
• nnX: Express routes

During the summer and select holidays, the MST Trolley (also known as the Waterfront Area Visitor Express, or WAVE), a free shuttle, serves Old Town Monterey, Cannery Row, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

MST also operates two demand-response transit services covering areas away from its standard routes: DART on the Monterey Peninsula (with timed transfers to other routes at the Monterey Transit Plaza) and MST On Call in Marina (with timed transfers at the Marina Transit Exchange).

MST Rides is a paratransit service available to persons who have a disability preventing them from using MST's regular fixed-route service. It operates under its own fare and zone structures.

[edit] Transit Connections

Lines 27, 28, and 29 connect to Santa Cruz Metro, which serves Santa Cruz County, at Watsonville Transit Center.

Salinas's Amtrak and Greyhound stations are located near the Salinas Transit Center; lines 29 and 49 will also connect with the Amtrak station upon request.

Line 55 connects to both Caltrain and VTA at the Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Jose Diridon Caltrain Stations, as well as Amtrak at Diridon Station. This links the Monterey Bay to Bay Area, state, and national transit networks. (Line 55 also serves as an Amtrak Thruway bus.)

[edit] Airport Connections

Monterey Peninsula Airport is served by both line 21 and DART.

Marina Municipal Airport is served by MST On Call.

One can access San Jose International Airport by taking line 55 to San Jose and transferring to VTA light rail.

One can access San Francisco International Airport by taking line 55 to San Jose and transferring to Caltrain.

[edit] Recent News

The Marina Transit Exchange opened for business on October 1, 2007, after a September 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The following service changes went into effect on September 1, 2007:

• The MST Trolley and Line 22 Big Sur have returned to their reduced, year-round schedule due to the end of the summer season. The Trolley will run only on holidays, and Line 22 will run only on weekends and holidays with two round trips per day rather than three.
• Lines 6 Edgewater—Ryan Ranch and 20 Monterey—Salinas via Marina have had their afternoon schedules adjusted slightly to improve on-time performance.
• Line 23 Salinas—King City has been rerouted within King City.
• Line 24 Carmel Valley Grapevine Express has had significant schedule adjustments in order to improve connectivity at Carmel Rancho.
• Afternoon special service to Brunken & Malarin on Line 43 Memorial Hospital has been replaced with special service on Line 20.
• Line 55 Monterey—San Jose Express now boards on Pearl Street rather than Tyler Street at Monterey Transit Plaza.
• Line 56 Monterey—Memorial Hospital has been introduced, providing weekday rush hour service between Monterey Transit Plaza and Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, as well as serving Del Monte Center and the Laurales Grade Park & Ride lot.

Free onboard Wi-Fi service was added to MST Lines 23 Salinas—King City, 53 Monterey Peninsula—South County Express, and 55 Monterey—San Jose Express on July 18, 2007. The service, funded by a grant from the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, is a two-year test pilot project. MST plans to introduce additional technology, such as "smart card fare payment, online trip planners, and real-time information on when a bus is due to arrive at various stops," to attract new riders.

[edit] Bus Names

The MST busses have a variety of names that refer to patriotic, California, and local themes. These names include:

• China Rock
• Valley Forge
• Golden State
• Red, White & Blue

[edit] External links

• Monterey-Salinas Transit Official Site