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Traveler Information for Santa Cruz County

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Private Transport

Do you need personalized, door-to-door travel service? Find a solution that matches your needs here.

Rideshare

Smartphone apps that connect drivers with similar destinations directly to each other, instead of hiring a driver to pick up and drop off.

  • Carma – Share commuting costs by carpooling with neighbors and colleagues headed the same way. Riders pay .20 per mile, standard, which means drivers don’t make a profit. Once a trip starts, a timer on the app keeps track of the trip distance and automatically pays the driver when the trip ends.
  • Zimride – Available to UCSC students, but not the general public. Drivers looking to fill seats on Zimride can accept passengers based on profiles that include information like musical preferences, interests, and past feedback. Passengers can book rides, and a driver has 24 hours to accept a request from a passenger.

Carshare

If you don’t need to drive every day, consider not owning a car at all, and reserving a car by-the-hour with Zipcar. It’s easy to get started, but requires some pre-planning to setup an account. Zipcars are located in designated spots on the UCSC campus and in Downtown Santa Cruz.

Zipcar - Car sharing is kinda’ like car rental, but way better You reserve wheels when you want them, by the hour or day (online or in the Zipcar app) and only pay for the time you use them. And unlike a car rental, there’s no waiting in line at the counter.

Zipcar locations in Santa Cruz County

Zipcar locations in Santa Cruz County. For car info and reservations, visit zipcar.com.

Taxis

Call your local taxi company for on-demand pick up and drop off service.

  • Santa Cruz Yellow Cab – 831.423.1234 (serves Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley, UCSC, Soquel, Aptos, Seascape, Davenport, Felton, Bonny Doon, Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek – includes paratransit vehicles)
  • Deluxe Cab – 831.475.3232 (serves mid-County)
  • Courtesy Cab – 831.761.3122 (serves Watsonville – includes paratransit vehicles)
  • Go Green Cab – 831.246.1234 (biodiesel taxis)
  • Village Taxi – 831.254.3588 (serves Santa Cruz County, Capitola, Soquel, Aptos and La Selva Beach)

Ride-Hailing

Innovative new companies that use smartphone apps to dispatch drivers.

  • Uber – Uber matches passengers requesting rides with drivers based on the GPS location of the passenger’s phone. The apps sends driver contact information to the passenger, and a text when the driver arrives at the pick-up location. Uber will quote fares and allow payment with credit card.
  • Lyft – Lyft lets users request a ride. Every driver needs to pass a DMV check and background check before they can get started. At the end of the ride, the app prompts the passenger to pay with stored credit card information.

Airport Shuttles

These companies offer transportation to the regional airports- SJC, SFO, OAK, and MRY. Airport shuttles are a convenient way to avoid airport parking hassles.

Rental

Renting cars by the day or week may be enough to get you around if you otherwise live car-free. You can also rent a truck if you need to move houses, or a van for the camping trip you’re planning. If you only occasionally need a certain type of vehicle, rent rather than own.

Chartered Transportation

Designated Drivers

  • Cruz Control transports you, your friends and your vehicle home safely after an evening of celebration. Fully insured drivers are dropped off or arrive by electric folding bike to drive you and your vehicle to your destination.
  • Santa Cruz Pedicab will pedal you to hot spots in downtown Santa Cruz and to the Beach and Wharf.
  • PedX Courier & Cargo delivery service will pedal your stuff to destinations around Santa Cruz County.

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