Santa Barbara MTD Engages with the Community on Proposed Future Improvements to Bus Service, Requests Survey Participation

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SANTA BARBARA –Santa Barbara MTD is currently actively engaging with community members on the second round of MTD Moves Ahead, a community process to create a Short Range Transit Plan that will guide bus service development, infrastructure investment, and capital needs for MTD’s bus system over the next five years.

In October 2021, MTD staff went out to the public via a virtual listening session and survey to find out about the community’s needs and priorities for bus service. Both bus riders and non-riders shared important insights, and MTD’s Planning team combined those with a full analysis of the bus system both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. That analysis helped develop proposals that are now available for review and comment.

While MTD has recently had to put temporary service reductions into effect due to a bus operator shortage, planning for future rebuilding and improvements is vital. The purpose of this second round of engagement is to get feedback on these proposals to improve service by providing more frequent service, later service, modifying or creating new service, and working to prioritize bus riders by moving people more efficiently through our public right-of-way.

Details of the proposals, a link to the survey, and an interactive map can be found in English at sbmtd.gov/MTDMovesAhead and at sbmtd.gov/MTDAvanza in Spanish. Survey respondents have the opportunity to win one of five $50 Visa gift cards or one of ten 30-day bus passes.

The MTD team has been conducting bilingual in-person outreach at key locations and bus stops to explain the proposals and seek feedback since early May. This week, staff will be at the Thursday Carpinteria Farmers Market (May 19^th) and the Saturday Santa Barbara Farmers Market (May 21^st) with display boards and surveys.