Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing

Nearby Transit Routes

Route(s): 3B

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 3B

Route 3B Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays/Weekends: The Brommer & 17th Ave stop outbound to Capitola Mall (Stop ID 1267) will be discontinued.

Route(s): All

2026 World Cup

Special Service on June 16, 19, & 22: One late night round trip will be added for the 8:00pm & 9:00pm FIFA World Cup soccer matches at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi's Stadium). The northbound trip will depart River Front Transit Center at 11:30pm and will not serve Scotts Valley. The return trip will depart San Jose Diridon at 12:30am and will serve Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. On 6/16, an additional northbound trip will depart Santa Cruz at 12:50am, and return from Diridon Station at 1:50am.

Route(s): 18, 18B, 19, 19B

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 18/18B & 19/19B

Routes 18/18B & 19/19B Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays/Weekends: UCSC loop trips will run at 30-minute peak frequency rather than 15 minutes. Routes 18B & 19B will provide service every 30 minutes to the base of campus. Trip departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route. Weekdays: Routes 18 & 19 will operate on a single Mon-Fri schedule, not separate MWF and TTh schedules.

Route(s): 40, 41

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 40 & 41

Route 40 & 41 Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays/Weekends: Cedar & Cathcart (Stop ID 2303) is out of service due to library construction. Trip departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route(s): 34

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 34

Route 34 Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays: Service to Scotts Valley High will not operate in the Summer until the school year begins August 6.

Route(s): 2

Stop 1899 Relocation

Effective April 14, 2026, Stop 1899 at Water & N Branciforte (inbound to Santa Cruz) has been temporarily relocated due to nearby construction. The temporary stop is located further up the hill, before the intersection, at approximately 917 Water Street. Thank you for your patience.

Route(s): 35, 35X

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 35/35X

Route 35/35X Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays: Two inbound 35X trips (6:10pm from Country Club and 6:34pm from Mountain Store) will become Route 35 trips to provide service to and from Scotts Valley Dr. Trip departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route(s): 16

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 16

Route 16 Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays: Will not operate during the Summer schedule.

Route(s): 2, 2N

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 2/2N

Route 2/2N Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays/Weekends: Trip departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route(s): 1

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 1

Route 1 Summer Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays/Weekends: Select late night trips will begin at the Boardwalk (Cliff & Beach) at 8:45pm, 9:45pm, and 10:45 prior to starting the regular trip at River Front 15 minutes later. Trip departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

Route(s): 17

FY26 Summer Service Change, Route 17

Route 17 Spring Service (eff. 6/18/26): Weekdays/Weekends: Trip departure and arrival times have been adjusted along the route.

TRANSIT CENTER REDEVELOPMENT

Our goal is to provide 175 new affordable housing units in Santa Cruz and Watsonville by 2033.

Pacific Station

The Pacific Station complex is METRO’s primary transit center, serving 15 routes with connections to UCSC, Scotts Valley, Watsonville and San Jose. Originally constructed in the early 1980s, the facility is in dire need of renovation and modernization.

The City of Santa Cruz and METRO have been conducting outreach and planning for the redevelopment of Pacific Station since 2002. The property’s prime downtown location makes it both an important transportation hub and an attractive site for developing affordable housing. In support of the most recent redevelopment efforts, the METRO Board of Directors approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in June 2020 between the City of Santa Cruz and METRO in which the parties agreed to work together to apply for a state Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) grant to redevelop the site and adjacent City-owned properties into a new transit center and affordable, mixed-use development.

In January 2022, the project was awarded $29.6 million in AHSC funds from the California Strategic Growth Council to develop 126 units of affordable housing and a new METRO station and bus tarmac in a net-zero, seven story, mixed-use development. The project has also received a $20.9 million grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG) program, $500,000 in California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) funds, and affordable housing tax credits. Together with METRO’s financial contribution of $4 million, the project was fully funded and broke ground in February 2024, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Watsonville Transit Center

In early 2024, METRO began the two-year architecture and engineering phase of a project to redevelop the Watsonville Transit Center into an affordable, transit-oriented development. When completed, the development will include more than 60+ units of net-zero affordable housing.

The ground floor of this infill development will serve as a METRO transit center and ticketing office with the affordable house units located on the upper floors. Bus operations will be relocated to on-street bus bays to maximize the potential of the one-acre site.

In addition, METRO plans to operate two bus routes with 15-minute frequencies between the Watsonville Transit Center and Santa Cruz. These routes will meet the state’s definition of high quality transit.

Located within downtown, the project is a key element of the City of Watsonville’s overall revitalization effort. It will directly increase fair housing in the area because 100% of the dwelling units will be affordable. The project will also indirectly support the construction of housing in Watsonville through the implementation of bus services that meet the state’s definition of high-quality transit. This designation allows the City and developers to streamline certain California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements and reduce parking, if they choose.

Funding for the project comes from the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments’ (AMBAG) Regional Early Action Planning Grants of 2021 program (REAP 2.0) and the California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP).