Santa Cruzans, particularly those who ride the buses, have probably noticed new stops and bus operations around Front Street, River Street and Soquel Avenue. It’s all part of the two-year changes accompanying the Pacific Station North project, which is slated to begin construction next week.
Santa Cruz Metro
Posted inBusiness & Technology
This week in Santa Cruz County business: A deeper dive on Climatize, temporary new digs for Santa Cruz Metro
In this week’s local business roundup, Jessica M. Pasko brings more on a Santa Cruz High grad’s work in microfinancing renewable energy projects, reminds us about Metro’s change of scenery and covers other notes and numbers around the county.
Posted inEducation
Santa Cruz Metro floats plan to take over UCSC campus loop bus service
As UC Santa Cruz faces increasing pressure from students and union workers to improve its bus system, campus and Santa Cruz Metro officials say they’re in talks to do just that. Outgoing Metro CEO Michael Tree says the talks are very preliminary for Metro to take over the campus loop buses.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Students deserve a better transportation system – regardless of what caused the fatal December bus crash
Lookout politics columnist Mike Rotkin, who sits on the Regional Transportation Commission and the Santa Cruz Metro board of directors, weighs in on the problems of buses at UC Santa Cruz and the sad death of UCSC bus driver Dan Stevenson. Rotkin, who teaches a course at UCSC through Merrill College, says students deserve better service for the $171 quarterly fees they pay. He thinks a merger with Metro is necessary, but wonders how the transit agency will manage such a complicated deal, given CEO Michael Tree’s imminent departure.
Posted inLatest News
Carmageddon: Soquel Drive to get bike, pedestrian and bus improvements
The Soquel Drive project involves 5.6 miles of Soquel Drive from La Fonda Avenue in Santa Cruz to State Park Drive in Aptos. Prep work is currently underway, and drivers can expect to run into the heaviest traffic delays in the summer and fall.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz Metro CEO Michael Tree departs after less than 2 years
Santa Cruz Metro CEO Michael Tree said he is leaving the transit agency for personal reason to be closer to his aging parents in Southern California. He will join the Golden Empire Transit District in the Bakersfield area as its CEO when he officially departs. His last day will be Feb. 16.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Prospects for local politics in 2024: Metro advances, more women in office and El Niño
Lookout political columnist Mike Rotkin offers a sneak peek into the big issues he sees locally for 2024. There are bright spots, he says, like the exceptional work at Santa Cruz Metro, which, he thinks, will soon make riding a bus faster than driving a car to get across the county. He rejoices at the prospect of a more diverse county board of supervisors and worries what an El Niño year will mean for West Cliff Drive, Pajaro, Capitola Village and rural county communities. And he wonders how we will continue to tackle our two biggest issues: homelessness and affordable housing.
Posted inLatest News
Carmageddon: Reimagine Metro Phase 2 comes with extended routes, more buses, and more drivers
Santa Cruz Metro is already working towards implementing Phase 2 of its Reimagine Metro initiative to upgrade the county’s transit system into a much more efficient, convenient service. In order to do that, the agency will incrementally add more buses to its fleet and hire 70 more drivers.
Posted inEducation
Driver in UC Santa Cruz bus crash dies
Dan Stevenson, the bus driver who was behind the wheel of a bus that crashed on UCSC’s campus on Dec. 12, has died from his injuries. The school’s investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz needs to listen to the 50-plus-year-old Lorax and rethink hydrogen fuel
More than 50 years ago, Dr. Seuss’ eco-parable “The Lorax” warned us of dire consequences of corporate greed and climate blindness. Today, the tale is as relevant as ever, writes Santa Cruz activist Michael Levy. But, he says, the environmentalism of the past needs to be updated with a much deeper, broader vision, even locally. These days, he says, every “environmentally friendly” solution – even Santa Cruz’s new hydrogen buses – has a downside. He says we all need to call for solutions that replace extraction and consumption with community resilience, not new corporate technologies. “We need a revolution yesterday,” he writes.
