METRO News Bulletins

Rt. 40 Outbound

See Route Schedule: 40

Effective: Sep 12 - Dec 18 2024

Eff. 9/12/24, Rt. 40 Outbound will serve Swift, Delaware, & Natural Bridges to HWY 1. Stop 2095 Hwy 1 & Wstrn will no longer be served.

Stop CLOSURE: Front & Laurel

See Route Schedule: 18 19 20

Effective: Sep 20 - Dec 18 2024

Stop #2771 (Front & Laurel) will no longer be served due to construction.

Fall Service starting September 12, 2024

Highlighted Service Changes:

Reimagine METRO – Phase 2

Route 73: Service to Capitola Mall

Route 73 will be extended to run between Capitola Mall and Watsonville Transit Center, except for a few weekday trips.

Route 35: Weekend Frequency Improved to Every 30 Minutes

Route 35 will operate every 30 minutes; segments which alternate, such as Hwy 9-Highland Park/Glen Arbor and Mtn Store/Country Club, will now have service every hour instead of every two hours.

Highway 17 Express – Two New Round Trips, Added Service to SJSU, and Connections to Caltrain Electric Trains

Two weekday trips have been added, including one additional trip to downtown San Jose/SJSU each in the morning and the afternoon/early evening. Trips are coordinated for transfers to Caltrain’s new electric train service starting in late September.

School Term (“ST”) Service:

Route 16 School Term “ST” Service Returns

Route 16 School Term “ST” service returns, providing additional options to/from the UCSC campus, with specific Mon-Wed-Fri and Tues-Thurs schedules.

County Fair Service - Route 79F

Special service to the Fairgrounds outside of Watsonville will run for the County Fair Wednesday September 11 – Sunday September 15.

Route-specific Schedule Changes between Summer and Fall schedules - Routes not specifically mentioned below will continue to operate the same schedule as Summer 2024 Service. Riders are advised to review all the route changes below, and then view the new schedules and maps to see the changes in detail.

Route 1 – Soquel/Cabrillo/Airport

See Route Schedule: 1

STOP CHANGES SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: The following stops that were temporarily discontinued will be added back: Airport & Freedom (Stop ID 2486), E Lake & Sudden (Stop ID 1064), Green Valley & Carnation - Medical Plaza (Stop ID 1100), Green Valley & Stewart (Stop ID 2726), Lincoln & E High (Stop ID 2484), and Lincoln & Stanford (Stop ID 1992). In addition, a new stop was added at Lincoln & E Lake Ave (Stop ID 2769). Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Weekdays: The last three trips from Watsonville to Santa Cruz will depart 30 minutes earlier, at 9:30pm, 10:30pm, and 11:30pm.

Route 2 – Capitola/Cabrillo/Main

See Route Schedule: 2

SCHEDULE CHANGE ADDITIONAL WEEKEND EVENING TRIP

Weekdays: The last three trips from Santa Cruz to Watsonville will depart 30 minutes earlier, at 9:25pm, 10:25pm, and 11:25pm.

Weekends: From Santa Cruz, the 9:55pm and 10:55pm trips will depart 30 minutes earlier, at 9:25pm and 10:25pm. An additional trip will depart at 11:25pm.

Route 11 – UCSC via West Gate - High

See Route Schedule: 11

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route 18 – UCSC via Main Gate – Mission

See Route Schedule: 18

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route 19 – UCSC via West Gate – Bay

See Route Schedule: 19

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route 20 – UCSC via Main Gate – Delaware

See Route Schedule: 20

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route 35 – Highway 9/Scotts Valley

See Route Schedule: 35

MORE FREQUENT SERVICE

Weekdays/Weekends: The bus stop signs for two stops at San Lorenzo Valley High School will be swapped to align them with online records (METRO Real-Time, Google/Apple maps): the on-campus stop serving the 2:55pm departure will change from Stop ID 2692 to 1031, and the northbound stop on Hwy 9 will change from Stop ID 1031 to 2692. Heading into River Front Transit Center in Santa Cruz, the route will continue on Ocean St to Soquel Ave, and serve Ocean & Water Government Center (Stop ID 2605); Ocean & Dakota (Stop ID 2682); and Soquel Ave & Ocean (Stop ID 1782).

Weekends: Service frequency will be improved to every 30 minutes from 7:30am – 9:30pm.

Route 40 – Highway 1 – Davenport

See Route Schedule: 40

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays: Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route 55 – Capitola/Rio Del Mar/La Selva

See Route Schedule: 55

NEW STOP ADDED

Weekdays/Weekends: A stop has been added: Porter & W Walnut Ave (Stop ID 2289).

Route 73 – Soquel/Freedom/Cabrillo

See Route Schedule: 73

ROUTE CHANGE SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays: Route 73 has been extended to run between Capitola Mall and Watsonville Transit Center, except for a few trips at the peak. Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route; from Cabrillo to Watsonville, the time adjustments are up to 15 minutes, and from Watsonville, the time adjustments are up to 20 minutes in the afternoon.

Weekends: The route has been extended to run between Capitola Mall and Watsonville Transit Center all day. With the addition of Capitola Mall to the route, arrivals from Cabrillo College to Watsonville have been adjusted by 10-12 minutes.

Route 78 – Ohlone/Watsonville Hospital

See Route Schedule: 78

ROUTE CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: Returning to Watsonville Transit Center from Main St, the route will go right on S Green Valley Rd, left on Harkins Slough Rd, and right on Westridge Dr. S Green Valley Rd & Main (Stop ID 2552) will be served by this route, while Main & S Green Valley Rd (Stop ID 1144) will not be served by Route 78.

Route 79 – East Lake

See Route Schedule: 79

STOP CHANGE

Weekdays/Weekends: The stop at E Beach & Hushbeck Ave (Stop ID 1062) will be replaced by a new stop around the corner, at Hushbeck Ave & E Beach (Stop ID 2770).

Route 90X – Watsonville – Santa Cruz Express

See Route Schedule: 90X

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Weekdays: Departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Highway 17 Express

See Route Schedule: 17

ADDITIONAL TRIPS TO SJSU NEW CALTRAIN ELECTRIC TRAIN SERVICE ROUTE CHANGE

Weekdays: Trips are coordinated for transfers to Caltrain’s new electric train service that is scheduled to start September 21. Two weekday trips have been added. There will be one additional trip to downtown San Jose/SJSU in the morning and the afternoon/early evening. The afternoon/evening trips from SJSU will now start at E San Fernando & 7th (westbound stop, Stop ID 0914) before heading west along Santa Clara St to San Jose Diridon, so passengers boarding at Diridon will have a shorter trip, and stops at Barack Obama Blvd & Park Ave (Stop ID 0915) and Barack Obama Blvd & W San Carlos Ave (Stop ID 0902) will be served on all southbound trips.

Weekends: Trip times have been adjusted to connect to other regional transit, including the new Caltrain schedule for electric train service.

None at this time.