A New Commuter Train Is Entering Santa Barbara’s Station. Now How Do I Get There?

With the new addition of peak-hour Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service coming May 4, commuters will have another option to beat the rush hour traffic. 

But the challenge isn’t getting on the train; it’s getting to and from it. Known as the first-and-last-mile problem, finding a way from home to the depot and from the station to work can be a barrier to entry for many potential rail commuters. 

This topic was one of the focuses of the Train to Work Forum hosted by Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) and the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce. The Wednesday-morning event brought together around 200 business leaders, members of the workforce, and transportation coordinators to the Hilton Garden Inn in Goleta, encouraging them to identify potential barriers to using the new commuter service.

According to January 2024 data published by SBCAG, just under 40,000 Ventura County residents travel to Santa Barbara on a weekday, with around 11,000 of those being commutes for work.  

As an incentive to get cars off the road, SBCAG is offering those who commute to Santa Barbara County a $50 voucher — enough to pay for 10 rides (five round trips) from Ventura to Santa Barbara — by signing up through SmartRide.org. If riders log five trips on SmartRide, they are eligible to receive another $50 voucher, giving them even more free rides. 

Santa Barbara County, LOSSAN, Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), Santa Barbara MTD, and BCycle representatives spoke on a panel Wednesday, sharing information about riding the train and last-mile solutions, as well as to address public concerns. 

The room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Goleta was loud but positive. Organizers offered many options to attract new rail commuters, giving folks a buffet of options to choose their own adventure.  

Parking at Seaside Park 

There are 20 short-term and 20 overnight free parking spots designated for Amtrak riders at Seaside Park, located in the Ventura County Fairgrounds parking lot near the railroad track. 

“It’s generally not considered a free lot,” said VCTC Executive Director Martin Erickson, but there is an agreement between the City of Ventura and Amtrak to provide free parking for passengers.

There are also six all-day free public parking lots located off of Santa Clara Street, all within a 15 minute walk of the depot. 

Biking and Scootering to the Depot

Using a personal bicycle is another option, but there are only seven bicycle spaces on each train. Cyclists need to make sure to reserve a free spot for their bike when booking their Amtrak ticket ahead of time, or call customer service to add a bike space to an existing reservation. 

Alyssa Dowdalls, LOSSAN marketing and communications manager, said that bikes are not permitted in the seating area of the cars. “It’s a safety thing. We have to make sure that the bikes are in an area that there’s not a lot of high traffic and that they’re secured,” Dowdalls said. 

Electric bikes are allowed, as long as they’re fewer than 50 pounds and have tires that don’t exceed two inches. Gas powered motor bikes are prohibited.

Folding bikes are counted as carry-on baggage and do not need a spot reserved, as long as they fold down to 34″ x 15″ x 48″ or less. Scooters and e-scooters are also allowed onboard, and must be folded before boarding and stored under the seat or in sections designated for folding bicycles. Non-folding scooters have to be stored by bike racks in the bike designated car. 

Bus Services 

In Ventura, both VCTC and Gold Coast Transit District buses give one free ride to passengers with valid Amtrak — and also Metrolink — tickets per day. Information on bus schedules, routes, and bus tracking can be found on the VCTC and Gold Coast Transit District websites.   

The Coastal Express, VCTC’s bus service that runs from Camarillo to Goleta, is also included in the one-free-ride offer, allowing commuters to mix and match their modes of transit. For example, a passenger can take the train up to Santa Barbara in the morning, and catch a free ride on the Coastal Express back down to Ventura in the afternoon. 

Santa Barbara MTD offers a similar incentive, with unlimited free bus rides for the entire day with an Amtrak ticket with the current date. This means that folks who need to transfer buses to get to their final destination will have the cost of their entire trip included in their train fare. Information on bus schedules, routes, and bus tracking can be found on the MTD’s website.   

Free Santa Barbara MTD Shuttle Service 

Once passengers arrive in Santa Barbara, three free MTD shuttle services are available to get riders closer to their final destinations. One will service Santa Barbara, and two for Goleta. Shuttles are scheduled to run twice per day around the peak-hour Amtrak service. 

The Santa Barbara shuttle (Line 92) makes stops adjacent to State Street and ends at Cottage Hospital. The East Goleta and UCSB Shuttle (Line 91) will make three stops on Hollister Avenue and two stops on UCSB’s campus, ending at North Hall. The West Goleta Shuttle (Line 90) is routed down the other direction of Hollister Avenue, making four stops ending at Tech Park at the intersection of Palo Alto Drive and Hollister. 

The morning shuttle will be waiting for passengers when the train reaches the station (7:56 a.m. in Santa Barbara and 8:11 a.m. in Goleta), and depart three minutes after the train makes its stop. Afternoon service will get passengers to the Goleta Station by 4:15 p.m. and to the Santa Barbara Depot by 4:30 p.m., 10 minutes before the Surfliner is scheduled to depart. 

When boarding, passengers must show a valid Amtrak Pacific Surfliner paper ticket or e-ticket to the driver to receive the complimentary service. 

BCycle

Those who have spent any time in Santa Barbara in the past few years are sure to have noticed these white electric bicycles, adorned with brown baskets, whizzing down State Street. BCycle has 83 stations around town, including one at the Amtrak station off of State Street, and is set to install 25 more this May.  

A monthly pass ($32.65 per month) and a year pass ($244.68 annually) give riders unlimited 60 minute rides. Those who qualify as low income can sign up for a “BCycle for All” pass at just $27.12, with the same perks as a regular year pass. 

SBCAG offers a “Try Transit” promotion where participants can get a free month pass for BCycle — unlimited 60 minute rides for the month to try out the service. This offer can only be redeemed once. 

BCycle Operation Manager Jo-Anne Burgess said that due to limited funding, BCycle has no plans to expand outside of Santa Barbara, despite the company having interest in doing so. “Equipment is expensive, and the costs just keep going up,” she said. 

Guaranteed Ride Home Program

For those who are worried that they won’t be able to get home in an emergency, SBCAG offers a service for commuters to get reimbursed — up to $300 per year —  for an Uber, Lyft, taxi, rental car, or other public transit, to get back home.

To be qualified, commuters must work in Santa Barbara County and log their train trips — or other alternative transportation, such as trips by bus, bike, or car and vanpool — in SmartRide.org. 

The service covers personal and family emergencies, two-hour or longer public transportation delays or bus cancellations, unexpected overtime, or getting a flat tire on your bike, as well as unexpected weather and natural disasters. 

There is a caveat: This is only applicable to a ride home from work — rides to work are not eligible for reimbursement. Other ineligible uses are getting a ride for errands, business trips, personal and medical appointments, or to avoid planned detours and delays on routes.  

Commuters who wish to use the service are supposed to pay for the ride themselves, then submit their receipt via SmartRide for reimbursement. 

For more information on the new commuter train, see sbcag.org/train.