Quick Take
Santa Cruz Metro advocates are continuing their push for signatures to get a sales tax ballot measure before county voters in order to secure a local funding source to maintain Metro’s major service increases over the past three years. One program in jeopardy without local funding is Youth Cruz Free, offering free rides to K-12 students, which has shown to be a success among local students and their families.
Since launching in March 2023, Santa Cruz Metro’s Youth Cruz Free program has transformed how local students get around. It has led to a surge in youth ridership — allowing students to easily travel among high school, community college classes and jobs without relying on parents for rides.
But this newfound mobility is quickly heading toward a funding cliff. With a $28 million state grant set to run out early next year, transit advocates are facing an Aug. 12 deadline to get a sales tax measure on the ballot. Without a local funding source, the agency faces major 40% service cuts and mass layoffs, placing the popular youth program directly on the chopping block.
“Ever since that program launched, there’s been an increase in youth ridership,” said Jaime Renteria, a Metro bus operator and the general chair of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 23, the union that represents Metro bus drivers. “When we’re at farmers markets, parents have come up to me multiple times to say they appreciate the free youth ridership, because it helps them a lot.”
Metro’s three-year pilot program, called Reimagine Metro, involves major service upgrades and route changes with the ultimate goal of doubling ridership from 3.5 million to 7 million rides annually and providing more direct, frequent service.
The supporters, operating under the name Friends of Santa Cruz Metro, originally aimed for a May 11 deadline to collect the 10,500 signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, but they did not meet that deadline. They are now eyeing an Aug. 12 deadline in order to get the measure to voters in either a special election in 2027 or the primary election in 2028, which Renteria is confident they will do. The group is nearing its goal, and is currently about 300 signatures away from reaching the minimum threshold needed to qualify. Metro Accounting Specialist Holly Reeves, who is also a union steward for Service Employees International Union 521, stressed the importance of passing the measure.
“This ballot measure is a community decision backed by staff, families, and volunteers to sustain stable locally controlled operations,” she said. “For countless working families in Santa Cruz County, the youth ride free program is a lifeline to ensure kids get to school and activities safely and on time. With community support, we will sustain it for years to come.”
Renteria explained that the Youth Cruz Free program provides an easy way for students in grades K-12 to get free bus access. Typically, they can just present their student ID to the bus driver, but if they don’t have one, they may sign up for a free Metro Youth Cruz Free ID at a customer service window with a valid proof of grade level or regular ID.
Renteria said he has noticed an increase in youth ridership on his routes, and County Supervisor Manu Koenig previously told Lookout that the program has led to a quadrupling of youth ridership.
That increased usage allows young Santa Cruzans to get around in their free time, but it also takes down barriers for education and employment opportunities, said Farris Sabbah, the county superintendent of schools, who has endorsed the sales tax measure.
Sabbah said teachers and clubs utilize the program for events and field trips, and he sees the program as especially useful for “dual-enrolled” students who are taking classes at Cabrillo College in tandem with their usual high school classes, whether it be for personal interest or to get a jump start on general education courses for college, as it provides them with a reliable route between campuses.
“It really opens up the possibilities, especially for our low-income families, to access these programs,” Sabbah said, adding that it also helps high school students with jobs to get to their workplace on their own. “Let’s say a student gets out early at 12 and they want to be at their other class at 1, and they’re able to take the Metro to be able to go to the community college. It’s allowed students to take these courses in a way they hadn’t been able to before.”
More access to schools and educational programs means a higher likelihood of continuing education as far as possible, said Sabbah.
“We recognize that for a lot of students, seeing themselves as college students is something they haven’t quite accepted completely or they’re concerned about,” he said. “Being on the campus either through a field trip and seeing themselves there makes it much more likely for them to enroll, participate and start taking courses. Then they’ve started all the hard work, and it’s just a matter of continuing.”
Sabbah also believes that young locals appreciate the environmental aspects of public transportation, and their ability to bring their bicycle or other personal vehicle with them. Renteria added that as gas prices climb, reliable public transit will prove to be vital whether you get it for free or not.
“This whole project is very essential, so now is the time to come together,” he said, adding that his son uses the bus every day to commute to school in San Jose, where he is attending nursing school, in order to save money on gas. “Not only is our community hurting right now because of all these financial difficulties, and they would hurt even more if Metro service is reduced.”
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FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated to show that Friends of Santa Cruz Metro is about 300 signatures away from reaching the minimum threshold.
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