Transit Centers

 

Pacific Station Relocation

The METRO Pacific Station complex in the city of Santa Cruz was demolished in early 2024. Redevelopment started soon thereafter and will continue until completion, which is currently anticipated in 2026.


METRO operates county-wide fixed-route service from its Santa Cruz River Front Transit Center, including a connection to Santa Clara County on its Highway 17 Express commuter route. Connections to Monterey County on Monterey-Salinas Transit are available at METRO’s Watsonville Transit Center. METRO operates a fleet of over 100 buses on at least 20 fixed routes and 32 paratransit vehicles.

 

 

River Front Temporary Transit Center

Per the terms of the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Santa Cruz (City) and METRO, the City coordinated the development of a METRO Downtown Transit Center Interim Operations Plan (Plan). The Plan included temporary traffic circulation patterns, determined associated traffic and sidewalk revisions, and identified locations for ancillary facilities to support METRO’s operations during the redevelopment of Pacific Station. Key elements include establishing a clockwise traffic flow around the area bounded by Soquel Ave., Front St., River St. and River St. South, the removal of the traffic island at the River St. South/Front St. intersection to facilitate METRO bus movements, general traffic restriping, and conversion of River St. South to one-way southbound.


The METRO Interim Downtown Transit Center Operations plan utilizes curbside space on Soquel Ave., Front St, River St. and River St. South to create four new bus stops and create multiple bus layover spaces. On Front Street and River St., the plan includes a shared bus/bike lane adjacent to the curb to facilitate bus movements, bus layover, bus station service, and bicycle movements. METRO boards and deboards passengers at four bus stops (Areas 1, 2, 3, 4), located at the River St. South/Soquel Ave. (Area 1) intersection, at the existing stop on Soquel Ave. between River St. South & Front St (Area 2), at the Front St. stop alongside CVS Pharmacy (Area 3), and Front St. In front of Trader Joes (Area 4). Layover spaces will be generally used between 5am and midnight, when most of the bus routes are out of service.


In order to accommodate the shared bus/bike lane, there on-street parking was reduced. Existing loading curbside spaces have been maintained. A description of these parking changes is detailed below.

 

City of Santa Cruz - Metro Interim Downtown Transit Center Plan.

 

 

Area 1, 2, 3, 4 Route Details

Area 1: Located at the River St. South/Soquel Ave. intersection

Routes Served: 1, 11, 18, 19, 20, 40, 41

 

Area 2: At the existing stop on Soquel Ave. between River St. South & Front St

Route Served: 35

 

Area 3: At the existing Front St. stop alongside CVS Pharmacy

Routes Served: 2, 3A, 3B, 4, 4W

 

Area 4: Front St. In front of Trader Joes

Routes Served: Highway 17 Express

 

 

TransitCenters

 

Click here to view a larger River Front Transit Center Map

 

Customer Service

METRO’s relocated Customer Experience Center is located at 603 Front St., across from CVS.  and is open to assist customers in-person Monday – Friday, 8:00AM – 5:00PM or by phone at (831) 425-8600.

 

Public Restrooms

METRO riders have access to a public restroom near Soquel/Front Parking Garage at 601 Front St. facing Soquel Ave., located next to Oswald’s Restaurant (121 Soquel Ave.) and across the street from New Leaf.

Walking Directions from METRO’s Customer Experience Center: Head South on Front St. Towards Soquel Ave., turn right on Soquel Ave., walk past Oswald’s Restaurant, public restrooms will be located on your right

 

Real-Time Bus Tracking

METRO is now providing a real-time bus arrival feed utilizing GTFS-RT, the transit industry standard, that enables riders to access real-time information on routes and bus locations in the most popular travel apps and websites. Real-time arrival information enables riders to know exactly when the bus will arrive, be aware of disruptions to service, such as traffic incidents, and know how full the bus is before it arrives. Travel with greater ease by taking advantage of real-time information that will help you make better trip decisions, using any platform you prefer:

  • Transit App and other popular smartphone apps
  • Google Maps and Apple Maps Trip Planners
  • METRO Real-Time website
  • SMS Text message “SCM XXXX” to 41411 (where XXXX is either a numeric stop ID, or transit center lane such as “rfc1” or “wtc2”) for predicted arrivals within 30 minutes

For more information visit scmetro.org/apps.

 

Cavallaro Transit Center, Scotts Valley

  • This Transit Center is not staffed.
  • Address: 246 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley
  • Routes: Amtrak/Highway 17 Express,  35
  • View Today's Departures with Schedule By Stop

Capitola Mall Transit Center

Watsonville Transit Center