CHP says UC Santa Cruz transit service ‘imminent danger to public safety’ after shuttle inspections 

After inspecting nine of UC Santa Cruz’s 35-foot campus shuttles, the California Highway Patrol found that five of them had to be placed out of service for repairs and classified the campus transit operation an “imminent danger to public safety” and gave UCSC an “unsatisfactory safety compliance rating.” 

Of those five shuttles, four had brakes that were out of adjustment, three had inoperable emergency exits and one had an “air brake hose worn into reinforcement ply.” 

In addition, the CHP found other violations that related to failures to meet inspection intervals for two of the shuttles – which were out of commission for repairs at the time – and an issue with the Department of Motor Vehicles maintaining a driver’s current medical certificate. 

“The vehicle violations should have been detected during an effective maintenance program and driver’s daily vehicle inspections. Carriers’ maintenance program was assigned an Unsatisfactory rating due to the condition of the regulated equipment,” the CHP report states. “Carrier’s operation was determined to meet the classification of Imminent Danger to Public Safety as per eve 34505.7(a)(1) since greater than 50% of the regulated equipment sample was placed Out-Of-Service.”

UCSC officials shared the report Thursday in a message to the campus community. 

The CHP inspections were requested, UCSC officials say, out of an abundance of caution after a Dec. 12 bus crash (involving a 35-foot shuttle) that resulted in the death of the bus driver weeks later. Dan Stevenson died on Dec. 29 from his injuries. UCSC police are still investigating the cause of the crash, and officials have continued to say they have no further information to report to the public about the incident or its cause. 

“We have made the adjustments and repairs recommended by the CHP report to all of our 35-foot shuttles, and a certified, independent expert inspected them to confirm they are ready to return to service,” wrote Ed Reiskin, vice chancellor for finance, operations and administration, in the message.

“It’s a shock that the university was operating vehicles that didn’t meet the basic safety standards, knowing that they were also extremely old – buses that are especially susceptible to these issues,” said third-year student Zennon Ulyate-Crow. “It just shows the need for newer buses on campus and the need for safer conditions for students and drivers alike.” 

Four of the shuttles were cleared immediately after getting inspected and put back into service for the start of winter quarter. Now eight of the 12 35-foot shuttles are back in service and four smaller shuttles are being used for a total 12 shuttles during the campus’ peak transit hours. When the campus reduced the number of shuttles at the start of the quarter, wait times increased briefly, but some students say they have since improved. 

The bus Stevenson was driving was not included in the CHP review, but was last inspected and cleared by the CHP in September 2023 – when the other shuttles were also most recently inspected as part of the CHP’s annual review. No issues were found with that shuttle during those inspections. 

Reiskin said the CHP will reinspect all the shuttles and the maintenance program in May. 

“None of the issues included in this report were identified in our previous annual CHP inspections, including our most recent previous inspection in September 2023,” Reiskin wrote. “We take these issues seriously and the safety of everyone in our campus community is our highest priority as we expeditiously address the report’s findings.” 

In addition to making the adjustments in the CHP report to all of the 35-foot buses, and having them all cleared by an independent expert, Reiskin listed several other ways the campus is improving its transit services. The campus requested specialized safety training from the CHP for its staff, and the school is bringing in an independent third-party expert to do a review of its maintenance program. 

Lookout asked UCSC spokesperson Scott Hernandez-Jason on Thursday for more clarity on several of the report’s findings. Those questions include more detail on the report noting that “brakes that were out of adjustment” and, importantly, if the buses all receive pre-trip inspections, how those issues were missed. 

“I’m not sure if I can get an answer by the day’s end,” he wrote via email. “I might be able to have something midday tomorrow.”

Lookout also reached out to the CHP for further information, but the agency has not yet responded.  

The findings come after students and union representatives have been raising concerns about the safety of the university’s aging bus fleet. The report also comes amid news that the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District suggested to the university that its buses replace the campus loop bus service. 

Santa Cruz Metro CEO Michael Tree told Lookout recently that discussions are very preliminary. The transit district made the suggestion as it’s preparing to double its service levels across the county, including on the campus. Metro has access to state and federal funding, which UCSC doesn’t, that allows it to purchase new and modern buses more easily, Tree added. 

UCSC said the university is in early discussions about transit improvements with Metro but that it has “no current plans” for Metro to take over its loop bus service. 

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