FARES & PASSES
Trip planner
Plan your trip here
Directions
FARES
Local Services in Santa Cruz County
Adult (age 18 and over)
$2.00 Cash/1 Ride
Day Pass
$6
3-Day Pass
$15
7-Day Pass
$32
31-Day Pass
$65
15-Ride Pass
$27
Day, 3-Day, 7-Day, 31-Day Passes allow unlimited rides on local Santa Cruz County routes (excluding Amtrak/Highway 17 Express).
Carry exact change. Driver does not provide change for larger bills.
Amtrak/Highway 17 Express
Children and Adults (age 61 and under)
$7.00 Cash/1 Ride
Day Pass
$14
31-Day Pass
$145
15-Ride Pass
$94.50
Carry exact change. Driver’s do not provide change for larger bills.
Local Services in Santa Cruz County
Discount Fare (adults age 62 and over, people with disabilities)
$1.00 Cash/1 Ride
Day Pass
$6
3-Day Pass
$15
7-Day Pass
$32
31-Day Pass
$65
15-Ride Pass
$27
Day, 3-Day, 7-Day, 31-Day Passes allow unlimited rides on local Santa Cruz County routes (excluding Amtrak/Highway 17 Express).
Carry exact change. Driver does not provide change for larger bills.
Amtrak/Highway 17 Express
Discount Fare (adults age 62 and over, people with disabilities)
$3.50 Cash/1 Ride
Carry exact change. Driver does not provide change for larger bills.
Local Services in Santa Cruz County
K-12 Students (Youth Cruz Free Pilot Program)
FREE on all routes within Santa Cruz County
Local Services in Santa Cruz County
College Students
FREE on all routes within Santa Cruz County
Must show student ID.
TRANSFERS
METRO Transfer Policy
- Transfers are free between METRO buses for riders on all local routes.
- If you are paying with cash or a pass, you must request a transfer from the bus operators when boarding.
- Transfers will be available for two hours.
- METRO Splash Pass fares are available for two hours in the mobile app.
- Transfers from a local to a Highway 17 bus will require payment of an “upgrade fare” equal to the difference between a local and Highway 17 fare.
- Clipper Cards are not honored on METRO buses.
Amtrak/Highway 17 Express Transfers
Day & 31-Day Passes
- Allow unlimited rides on all METRO routes and local VTA service
1-Ride and 15-Ride Passes
- Are not honored on any VTA Service.
Amtrak through-tickets to or from Santa Cruz
- Are honored on the Highway 17 Express route.
VTA Light Rail Transfers
- Are issued by request only with Highway 17 Express Day Pass, Highway 17 Express Cruz Pass, or Cruz Cash cards.
Student ID Cards and Passes
- Cabrillo College student ID cards, UCSC student ID cards, and other UCSC bus passes are not honored on the Amtrak/Highway 17 Express route.
Transfers to Other Transit Operators
Monterey Salinas Transit (MST)
MST will honor a free valid METRO transfer as payment for passengers boarding lines 28 and 29 at the Watsonville Transit Center from Lane 2.
METRO will honor free valid MST transfers for one-way travel within the METRO service area as far as the Temporary Riverfront Transit Center in downtown Santa Cruz.
Please refer to our Transfer Policy for complete details on transfers to and from VTA and MST service.
Buy Tickets and Passes
Pass and Ticket Vendor Locations
METRO passes and tickets can be purchased in-person at the Customer Service Windows at:
- Temporary Riverfront Customer Experience Center
603 Front St., downtown Santa Cruz
(831) 425-8600
Served by all routes except 72-79
- Watsonville Transit Center
475 Rodriguez St., Watsonville
(831) 425-8600
Served by routes 69A, 69W, 71-79, 91X, WC
- Boulder Creek Pharmacy
3081 Highway in Boulder Creek
Served by METRO Route 35.
The fastest way to purchase passes and tickets is by using METRO’s mobile ticketing app, the METRO Splash Pass, valid for all fixed-route trips. Download Splash Pass from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
METRO’s online store offers a selection of reloadable plastic CRUZ Cards and disposable paper METRO Passes for purchase on all fixed routes. Additionally, METRO offers ParaCruz Coupons for purchase for all paratransit riders. All passes and coupons are valid for purchase with a VISA or Mastercard.
Fixed-Route Tickets and Passes
Download and complete the Fixed-Route Mail Order Form <link to form> to order tickets and passes by mail. Instructions are listed on the form.
Send all mail order requests and payment by check to:
METRO
- 920 Pacific Ave., Suite 21
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
To place a bulk order, email your order request to bulkorders@scmtd.com.
Adult 1-Day and 31-Day passes qualify for bulk discounts when purchased in the quantities displayed below:
Adult 1-Day Pass Bulk Discount Rate
- 100 or more: 20%
Adult 31-Day Pass Bulk Discount Rates
- 12-50: 10%
- 51-100: 15%
- 101 or more: 20%
Terms & Shipping
- There is an additional charge of $1.50 for postage and handling on all passes purchased through the online store or mail order.
- Please allow five business days from the date the order is received by METRO staff.
- All sales are final. Fares and passes/tickets are non-transferable, non-refundable, and non-exchangeable.
- METRO assumes no responsibility for lost, misused, or stolen passes.
- METRO will not replace lost or stolen passes
- For further information, please read METRO’s Smart Card Policy. <Link to resource library>
Check Cashing Policy
- We accept personal checks as payment for bus passes only.
- We only accept personal checks at our Santa Cruz and Watsonville Transit Center Customer Service Windows.<Link to Customer Service page>
- Your check must be local to the METRO service area, including counties that are contiguous to Santa Cruz County.
- You must also present a valid California Driver’s license or legal photo ID when writing a check.
- There is a $15.00 service charge on all returned checks.
- View METRO’s Check Cashing Policy here. <link to resource library>
Credit Card Policy
- Visa, Mastercard, and Discover are accepted for the purchase of bus passes only
- Please have a legal photo ID available when using this method of payment
Free Fare Programs
Youth Cruz Free
COLLEGE STUDENTS
RIDE FREE
FREE FARES FOR LEGALLY
BLIND RIDERS
Free Fare Days
To show our appreciation to our customers and community, we offer several free fare days throughout the year. On these special days, every METRO route and service is completely free. It’s our way of saying thank you for your commitment to cleaner, greener transportation for all.