Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District riders are adjusting to new service changes that took effect Aug. 17, with the agency reducing overall bus service by 3.6%.
The changes include longer wait times on Lines 1 and 2, fewer Saturday trips on several routes and the elimination of some early-morning and late-day trips.
For some riders, the changes are already affecting their daily commutes.
Cynthia Bello, a Santa Barbara MTD ridersaid longer wait times can make it difficult for her to reach her destination on time.
“When the buses take long, I don’t make it to where I need to be,” Bello said.
She said she sometimes has to find another way to get around when the wait is too long.
“My Uber is two minutes away,” Bello said.
The service reductions come as MTD faces the loss of federal funding. In 2020, Santa Barbara’s population surpassed 200,000, moving the area into a different urbanized category. As a result, MTD lost about $3 million in annual federal operating assistance.
Hillary Blackerby, MTD’s planning and marketing manager, said the agency previously benefited from federal incentive funds because of its classification as a smaller urbanized area.
“When we were in the small category, we benefited from being really robust transit system in a small area, and we received incentive funds from the federal government for that reason,” Blackerby said.
To limit the impact on riders, Blackerby said MTD tried to make changes to routes that are less busy. But without additional funding, she warned that more significant cuts could come next year. “So, failing of new money coming in, yes, it will mean more significant cuts, much higher percentage than 3% likely in the coming year, next August,” Blackerby said.
When asked whether future cuts could include changes to routes or staffing, Blackerby said maintaining staffing levels remains a priority.
“Obviously, we are doing everything we can to maintain our staffing levels. It’s extremely important, and that is definitely the goal,” she said.
For now, riders are adjusting to the new schedules as MTD works to manage the impact of its funding loss.
