The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) announces the launch of a new on-demand transit service, Cruz On-Demand, as part of a pilot project beginning today, Monday, April 19, 2021. Cruz On-Demand will be METRO’s first endeavor into on-demand service and will allow for increased service coverage in Santa Cruz County.
Cruz On-Demand is a shared ride experience on smaller vans, operated by METRO’s trained ParaCruz operators, extending METRO’s service area 3/4s of a mile from any of METRO’s fixed bus routes, excluding Highway 17 and the UCSC campus. Pick-up locations can be any address within METRO’s service area and drop-off locations can be anywhere within a three mile radius of your pick-up address. Trips can be booked up to 24 hours in advance. The Ecolane app scheduler will display the next available pick-up time or you can schedule a future trip for later in the day.
Cruz On-Demand trips can be booked by downloading the Ecolane app on a smartphone or by calling METRO’s ParaCruz Customer Service Department at (831) 425-4664. During METRO’s temporary fare reduction program Cruz On-Demand fares are $2.00 for trips up to two miles and $3.00 for trips between two to three miles through September 15, 2021. Customers can also purchase and use a Day Pass in the METRO Splash Pass app or anywhere Day Passes are sold for use on Cruz On-Demand and transferring to METRO’s fixed-route service.
During this estimated yearlong pilot project, METRO will gather customer feedback and make adjustments to this service as needed to increase efficiency and streamline the Cruz On-Demand transit service model.
Whether running a neighborhood errand or connecting to the nearest METRO Transit Center for longer journeys, a Cruz On-Demand vehicle will come to you when you schedule it for service, to any address within METRO’s service area, up to a maximum distance of three miles.
For information on METRO’s Cruz On-Demand service, visit scmtd.com/ondemand. For instructions on how to download, Ecolane, the Cruz On-Demand booking app, visit scmtd.com/apps.
