Bike rack on the Highway 17 Express |
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| Headquarters | 110 Vernon Street, Santa Cruz, CA |
| Service area | Santa Cruz County |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit, express bus service |
| Stations | Metro Center/Pacific Station, 920 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz |
| Web site | scmtd.com |
The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply the Santa Cruz Metro, provides bus service throughout Santa Cruz County, California.
Santa Cruz Metro also operates the Highway 17 Express bus service between Santa Cruz (city) and San Jose, thanks to a partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Amtrak California.
Complete transit itineraries between Santa Cruz and San Francisco Bay Area cities and major airports are available from iridethebus.org.
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Santa Cruz Metro was created in 1968 as a special district within Santa Cruz County with taxing authority[1]. 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 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.[2]