Santa Cruz Metro
Posted inPolitics & Policy

$40 million later, Metro CEO Michael Tree’s priorities remain doubling ridership, zero emissions and housing

by Max Chun

Having managed four transit systems before making his way to Santa Cruz, Michael Tree lives and breathes public transportation. With a recently secured $40 million from the state, the head of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District sat down with Lookout to discuss what that money will help fund, how his past experience informs what to do in Santa Cruz, the difficulties in building passenger rail, and more.

Posted inOpinion from Community Voices

The key to environmental stability for Santa Cruz County? Reliable, frequent public transit

by Mike Rotkin

A nearly $40 million infusion of state funding for public transit and transit-oriented housing is good news for our community, says Lookout politics columnist Mike Rotkin. It will kick-start needed climate-friendly improvements, including a push to make our buses carbon-neutral and establish a “bus on shoulder” lane for Highway 1. Transit is the biggest cause of greenhouse gasses locally, so getting more people to ride buses and bikes is key. But we can’t be the national leader we want to be — on par with cities like Boulder and Portland — without even more money, he says. He suggests a small sales-tax increase to get us there.

Posted inEnvironment

‘The time is now’: Santa Cruzans call for transit equity, accessibility

by Grace Stetson

On Friday, Equity Transit held a march and rally with nearly 100 attendees calling for increased and accessible transit options throughout Santa Cruz County. “Transit inequities affect lots of people in different camps, and we’re all affected by it,” organizer Michael Wool said. “It’s a very multifaceted problem, we have to come at it from many different angles.”

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