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MTD Approves Plan to Add Carpinteria Bus Service and On-Demand Microtransit

Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transportation District’s Board of Directors approved a Short Range Transit Plan on Nov. 1 that includes impacts to Carpinteria. Changes are expected to be rolled out over the next five years. Major changes affecting Carpinteria will be the addition of a line (Line 19X) that provides direct connection between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara City College; improvements to Line 20, which connects Carpinteria to Santa Barbara; and the replacement of the Seaside Shuttle service with The Wave, an on-demand microtransit service.

Line 19X

Line 19x will be a new line providing a direct, express connection between Carpinteria and SBCC. Specifically, the service will provide peak hour and midday express service between Carpinteria, East Santa Barbara, and SBCC. The service will operate on weekdays only, and will not operate during SBCC spring and winter breaks. The service will feature two morning northbound trips (toward Santa Barbara), one midday round trip, and two afternoon/evening southbound trips (toward Carpinteria).

Seaside Shuttle

The Seaside Shuttle has been suspended since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the new plan is to replace the shuttle with the Wave, a flexible, on-demand shared ride curb-to-curb microtransit service covering the entire City of Carpinteria and some unincorporated County areas, including the Santa Claus Lane area. The exact days of the week and service span have not yet been specified, but it will be equivalent to ten hours a day, six days a week.

Line 20 Improvements

Line 20 provides the only current connection between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara in the MTD system. During the pandemic, Line 20 experienced the least ridership loss. Because this route clearly provides an important community service, MTD will improve weekday frequencies throughout most of the day and extend peak hour service (in the peak direction). Plans are to adjust frequencies as follows:

  • AM 15-min super peak 6 – 8 am (northbound direction)
  • 30-min during the midday (8 am – 4 pm)
  • PM super peak 15-min 4 – 6 pm (southbound direction)
  • 30-min evening service (6 – 8 pm)
  • 60-min late night service (8 – 11 pm)

For more detailed information, see the Short-Range Transit Plan in English at https://sbmtd.gov/mtdmovesahead and in Spanish at https://sbmtd.gov/mtdavanza/. Need more information? Email info@sbmtd.gov or call 805-963-3366.