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SANTA BARBARA – Santa Barbara MTD makes service changes to local bus service every year in mid-August. This year’s service changes will go into effect at the beginning of the day on Monday, August 15, 2022.
Due to a shortage of bus operators, temporary schedule reductions were made on April 25, 2022 in order to improve system reliability. Because the bus operator shortage continues, the majority of these temporary reductions will remain in effect through August 15th.
After the April reductions, MTD staff heard from regular riders that specific early morning trips on the Line 12x (Goleta Express) and Line 24x (UCSB Express) had been suspended, making it difficult to make it to work and other morning obligations. Taking this feedback, MTD staff worked to identify specific trips to reinstate on these lines.
The following trips will be added to the schedule for August:
Two Line 12x weekday AM outbound trips departing the Transit Center at 6:05 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.
One Line 12x weekday AM inbound trip departing Hollister & Storke at 7:58 a.m.
One Line 24x weekday AM outbound trip departing the Transit Center at 7:25 a.m.
Additionally, a minor routing change will happen for the Line 17 (Lower West/SBCC). Due to circulation improvements at the San Andres and Carrillo intersection in Santa Barbara, the inbound Line 17 route will now turn left on Canon Perdido from San Pascual, then right on San Andres before turning right on Carrillo to head to the Transit Center. This one block change does not affect any stops or schedules for the Line 17; it simply makes an operational improvement for the buses. This change now means the inbound and outbound routes are identical.
The new schedule guide reflecting these changes is available online here. The printed version of the schedule guide is also available at the Transit Center and onboard buses.
Customer Service Representatives are available for assistance at (805) 963-3366.