Santa Cruz Public Transit Forum - iridethebus.org
General Questions (2006 to 2008)
Use the “Post a Comment” link to ask or answer a question about public transit in the Santa Cruz, California area. This is a public forum; the opinions expressed are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the iridethebus.org Web site. This forum is moderated and is maintained by a volunteer, so questions may not be answered immediately.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 12:03:00 PM (
)
Commute to Palo Alto?
Hi, I may be moving to Santa Cruz and I'd like to know what the best way is to commute to Palo Alto (Stanford campus) Is there a train or a bus? How long would the ride take? Do many people do this?
Thanks for the information!
Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:42:00 AM (
Paul)
It's easy to commute from Santa Cruz to Stanford on public transit, and people do indeed do it! Use our San Francisco itinerary, but get off the train earlier, at Palo Alto Station. From there, catch a Stanford shuttle. Total travel time is 1.5 to 2 hours. Total cost is $169.50 a month, including $99.50 for a monthly pass on the train between San Jose and Palo Alto ("Caltrain") and $70 for 20 individual day pass upgrades ($3.50 a day) on the bus between Santa Cruz and San Jose ("Highway 17 Express"); the shuttle between Palo Alto and Stanford ("Marguerite", named after a favorite Stanford family horse) is free. When you get on the bus in Santa Cruz each morning, show your Caltrain monthly pass and pay $3.50; this entitles you to a Highway 17 Express day pass. If the driver is not familiar with this arrangement, ask her to call dispatch or look it up on page 2 of the schedule book ("Headways"). Important note: If you are a direct employee of Stanford, you may be eligible for big discounts on transit. Check out the Go Pass, Eco Pass, Commuter Check and Clean Air Cash programs supported by Stanford Parking and Transportation Services.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006 2:06:00 PM ( )
Thanks so much for the tips on getting between Stanford and Santa Cruz... One (important ;-) question: Do you mean it will take 1.5 to 2 hours *each way* or is that the total for the day? Can much time be shaved off by avoiding rush hour?
Thursday, February 16, 2006 1:35:00 PM ( Paul)
To the Palo Alto person: sorry for the delay in answering your second question, about travel times. The itinerary page (linked in the response to your first question) has links to actual schedules. Travel time depends on where you will be living in Santa Cruz County, what your exact office location is in Palo Alto, and what your workday is. During rush hour the Highway 17 Express bus is most frequent (due to demand) but slowest (due to traffic). During rush hour, Caltrain is most frequent (due to demand) but fastest (due to express trains). Minimum one-way travel time would be 65 minutes, if you lived next to the Cavallaro Transit Center in Scotts Valley, worked next to Palo Alto Caltrain Station, and commuted during rush hour. Mapquest says driving time for the same trip is 49 minutes, so transit isn't much slower. If you live further south in Santa Cruz County and/or have to use the Stanford Marguerite shuttle in Palo Alto, you can expect 1.5 to 2 hours each way. If this sounds slow, remember that you can sleep, read, or use a laptop computer on the bus and the train. Hope this helps!
Saturday, July 22, 2006 10:05:00 PM ( )
Cities: Monterey, Salinas?
How about a link to some info on getting to these cities, down south a bit but still pretty popular places to go! I live in Monterey, still trying to find a good bus route and cost to get back and forth to Santa Cruz. It's just across the bay! =)
Saturday, September 23, 2006 12:55:00 PM ( )
Any suggestions for getting to Big Basin via public transit from San Francisco. I know its gonna be a heck of a commute but I have plenty-o-time. Thanks
Saturday, September 23, 2006 10:01:00 PM ( Paul)
Here's the information you'll need to travel from San Francisco to Big Basin Redwoods State Park on public transit:
1. San Francisco / Santa Cruz
San Francisco / Santa Cruz transit instructions
Highway 17 Express Bus + Caltrain schedule
2. Santa Cruz / Big Basin
Option (a)
Santa Cruz Metro Route 35 schedule, weekends, to Big Basin
Santa Cruz Metro Route 35 schedule, weekends, from Big Basin
Santa Cruz Metro Route 35 serves Big Basin (main, inland entrance) only between mid-March and early December, only on weekends, and only once in the morning and once in the afternoon. No holiday service.
Option (b)
Santa Cruz Metro Route 40 schedule
Santa Cruz Metro Route 40 serves Big Basin (coastal entrance = Waddell Creek) throughout the year and every day of the week, but only once in the morning and once in the afternoon. No holiday service.
At Big Basin
Big Basin hiking trail descriptions
Big Basin map
Big Basin campsites
Note: You can arrive at Big Basin on Route 35 in the morning, enjoy a one-way hike down to the coast, and then return to Santa Cruz on Route 40 in the afternoon. See the "Skyline to the Sea Trail to Waddell Beach" entry on the trail description page.
Putting It All Together
A transit trip from San Francisco to Big Basin requires an overnight stay before Big Basin or at Big Basin. The Route 35 + one-way hike + Route 40 combination offers transit riders a unique opportunity. I've tried this hike and it's well worth the effort!
Friday, May 25, 2007 7:21:00 PM ( Paul)
To the person who wrote recently from Watsonville: Please send an e-mail to info@NOSPAMmetroridersunion.org (delete the "NOSPAM" part to get the real e-mail address!) so that I can offer some suggestions (no need rewrite your message, just let me know your e-mail address!). And just to be sure, please note that I am not affiliated with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District and cannot offer official information about their programs or services.
Thursday, August 16, 2007 6:22:00 PM ( )
i live in the monterey area and will be attending uc santa cruz. i'm going to live on campus and i'm wondering how to get from santa cruz to marina/monterey via the bus. would i go from sc to watsonville, then to marina on the mst? thank you
Sunday, December 09, 2007 2:18:00 PM ( )
Unfortunately, the SFO route won't work after January 1, 2008, and the replacement is longer and with an extra transfer, because BART is eliminating the Millbrae-SFO trains. Instead, some trains will terminate at SFO and not continue on to Millbrae, while other trains will go directly from San Bruno to Millbrae and not pass through SFO. Therefore the only way to make the transfer will now be to take BART northbound from Millbrae up to San Bruno, then transfer to a southbound train from San Bruno back down to SFO. Annoying.
Saturday, January 12, 2008 1:32:00 PM ( Paul)
Thanks for your comment about BART, Mark. The worst part is that there are now multiple possibilities depending on the day and the time, which makes things difficult for me to explain and difficult for riders to negotiate when they're in a hurry. Check out the January, 2008 revision of the SFO itinerary and see if it makes sense!
Saturday, January 12, 2008 1:41:00 PM ( Paul)
Re: Santa Cruz-area park-and-ride lots, sorry for the delay in responding. There is an official park-and-ride lot by Dominican Hospital on Soquel Drive (major bus routes: Highway 17 Express to/from San Jose -- weekday, commute service only; Route 71 to Santa Cruz or Watsonville -- daily, all-day service). There is also an unofficial park-and-ride lot by the Pasatiempo Inn at Highway 17 and Pasatiempo (major bus routes: Highway 17 Express to/from San Jose -- daily, all-day service; Route 35 to Santa Cruz or Scotts Valley -- daily, all-day service).
Saturday, January 12, 2008 2:07:00 PM ( Paul)
Alley, sorry for the long delay in responding. We get the Santa Cruz-Monterey County question once in a while (see above) and, after a 2007 schedule change by Monterey-Salinas Transit, the answer is don't bother!
The charlatans at MST: (1) split up Route 27, which used to run between Watsonville and Monterey; (2) failed to coordinate Route 27 with Metro's Watsonville routes; and (3) failed to coordinate Route 27 with Route 16, the onward route in Marina.
If you have about 3 hours, you can manage Santa Cruz-Marina by taking Santa Cruz Metro Route 71, 69A, 69W or 91 to Watsonville (ask for a transfer slip, valid for a 1-Zone ride in Monterey County) and MST Route 27 on to Marina.
For Santa Cruz-Monterey, it is actually faster to take the Highway 17 Express north to San Jose and then the MST 55 south to Monterey (only 3 trips a day, however). Don't bother with Santa Cruz-Watsonville-Marina-Monterey or Santa Cruz-Watsonville-Salinas-Monterey, as these options take 4 hours, against a typical driving time of less than 1 hour. MST, transit planning at its best!
This is a public forum; the opinions expressed are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the iridethebus.org Web site. A public service of the Metro Riders Union / La Unión de Los Pasajeros, not affiliated with Santa Cruz Metro or any other transportation provider.