Department Overview

The Planning & Development department’s mission is to develop and maintain an efficient and robust network of transit service for Santa Cruz County.   The mixture of rural and urban areas, the dynamic geographic and topographical landscape, and the diverse needs of our community poses a unique set of challenges for METRO.  To utilize all resources available, METRO partners with the Regional Transportation Commission, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, UC Santa Cruz Transportation and Parking Services, Cabrillo College and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to assist in overall transportation improvement planning.

 

Department staff includes:

  • Director of Planning and Development
  • Capital Planning & Grants Program Manager
  • Grants and Legislative Analyst
  • Schedule Analyst
  • Transportation Planner
  • Planning Analyst

METRO provides 23 different routes which carry over 5 million passengers and operates over 200,000 hours and 2.8 million miles of service annually. METRO maintains over 4 transit centers and 825 bus stops, almost 500 of which have benches and 220 of which have shelters.

Recent History (2016 – 2022)


Ongoing Planning Projects

For more details on the projects identified below please read METRO Annual Service Planning Status staff report.

  • Feasibility Study: Transit Enhancements along Soquel Drive Corridor

  • 2022-23 Comprehensive Operational Analysis COA)

  • Contactless Fare Payment

  • Pacific Station

  • Computer-Aided Dispatch / Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL)

  • Fare Restructure

  • Bus Replacement Plan

  • Installation of Automated Paassenger Counter (APC)

 

 



Historical Documents


Regional Planning Partners

  • SCCRTC - Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
  • AMBAG - Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
  • VTA - Valley Transit Authority (Santa Clara County)
  • MST - Monterey - Salinas Transit (Monterey County)
  • TAPS - Transportation and Parking Services (UC Santa Cruz)

 


Customer Communication

METRO thanks you for your valuable input to the 2016 COA service reduction process and your ongoing comments through Customer Service Reports on issues you may have with the METRO system.

Please continue to use the Customer Service Report for issues related to service and stop issues. However, if you’d like to provide comments about current or future service or facility planning, please email the Planning Dept at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to the Planning Department at 110 Vernon St, Santa Cruz CA 95060.

last updated: 3/15/2019