Santa Barbara MTD service change goes into effect Monday

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara MTD's annual service change will go into effect on Monday, Aug. 15.

Temporary schedule reductions were implemented at the end of April due to a shortage of bus operators, and the majority of the reductions will remain in effect through Aug. 15 due to the continued shortage, said MTD spokeswoman Hillary Blackerby.

However, MTD is adding trips on some routes after receiving feedback from riders.

"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," Blackerby said.

"Taking this feedback, MTD staff worked to identify specific trips to reinstate on these lines."

There will be two Line 12x weekday morning outbound trips departing the Transit Center downtown at 6:05 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., one Line 12x weekday morning trip inbound departing from Hollister & Storke at 7:58 a.m., and one Line 24x weekday morning outbound trip leaving the Transit Center at 7:25 a.m.

There will also be a slight routing change for Line 17 (Lower West/SBCC), Blackerby said.

"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," she explained.

The one-block change will not affect any stops or schedules for Line 17, but will make an operational improvement for the buses, she added.

Click here for the new MTD schedules that will go into effect on Monday.