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SANTA BARBARA – Santa Barbara MTD’s first fare change in 16 years will go into effect on Monday, August 18, 2025. After a robust public process with strong community feedback at the beginning of 2025, the MTD Board of Directors voted in March to adopt a new fare structure.
The new prices for the base fare and passes go into effect on Monday. The regular one-way fare will be $2.50, with a reduced fare for seniors and people with disabilities at $1.25. The age of eligibility for seniors has also been raised to 65 to bring MTD in line with many neighboring transit agencies and standard government age thresholds.
Old passes will still be accepted on board until the end of August. If riders have unused or partially used passes, they can be brought to the Transit Center on Chapala Street and the remaining value can be applied towards the cost of a new pass until the end of September 2025. Further details on the fare change can be found at https://sbmtd.gov/farechange
Reason for Fare Change
Operating costs have increased by more than 10 percent since Fiscal Year 2019, and fares only account for roughly 20 percent of MTD’s annual operating budget. The District’s major revenue sources are fares, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) operating assistance, and sales tax. With the FTA classifying Santa Barbara as a large urbanized area (UZA) due to the population growth confirmed by the 2020 Census, MTD is no longer eligible for FTA Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) funding of approximately $3.0 million per year, thus eliminating that funding source. In the absence of sufficient funding, MTD would be forced to make cuts to bus service.
New, Modern, and Equitable Ways to Pay
MTD is proud to have been only the third public transit agency in California to enable contactless payment on board the bus fleet. Tap2Ride contactless payment system that allows riders to use bank cards and mobile wallets on smart devices (like Apple Pay and GPay) to pay their bus fare. With a feature known as dynamic fare capping, a rider using Tap2Ride can ensure that they are capped at the cost of a 30-day pass in a 30 day period. While those paying the standard adult or youth fare who Tap2Ride will be capped at the regular 30-day pass price, seniors over 65, people with disabilities, and Medicare card holders are now able to enroll to receive discounted fares when using the Tap2Ride system. More details can be found at https://sbmtd.gov/taptoride
Additional Trip on Line 24x (UCSB Express)
Service changes this year are minimal, with MTD adding one additional weekday inbound PM peak trip on Line 24x (UCSB Express). This trip will provide an important trip to Downtown Santa Barbara from Goleta/IV/UCSB where there is currently a gap in the schedule–leaving North Hall Bus Loop at 5:10 p.m.. This should help those trying to commute from UCSB to Downtown Santa Barbara quickly at the end of the work day. Details can be found at https://sbmtd.gov/servicechanges.
