Along with free bus passes for select Santa Maria teens, the city's transit agency, SMAT announced it will be collecting fares again and returning to full transit service beginning July 1.
After 18 months of fare-free and limited service due to COVID-19, the most popular SMAT routes 2 and 3 are back twice-hourly.
An earlier additional trip will be tacked onto every route across the system.
Route 8 will also be extended to the Crossroads Shopping Center on South Bradley Road. Currently, only Route 7 goes there, and most riders would need a bus transfer.
SMAT said they are keeping up the nightly disinfection of buses on all high-touch surfaces like door handles, fare boxes, stanchions, and grab bars.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) still requires passengers, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks on all public transit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the President's executive order instruct mask-wearing on SMAT and other public transit across the country until September 13.
Head over to the SMAT website to view upcoming bus schedules.
