Ticket to ride: Santa Maria’s regional bus service accelerates toward zero-emission fleet, additional Central Coast routes

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Without a car of her own, lifetime Santa Maria resident Faith Collar relies on public transit nearly every day to get to and from Allan Hancock College. She’s been taking the bus around Santa Maria since she was a child, riding with her mom. 

“It’s a good experience, and it gets me from point A to point B,” Collar said. 

Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT) not only works to operate consistent bus service for locals, it’s expanding route options to meet a recent increase in demand, including looking at extending to Guadalupe and San Luis Obispo.

Following a major restructuring of its services and systems in 2022, SMRT ridership has grown more than 130 percent since its lowest point during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Transit Services Manager Gamaliel Anguiano attributes this change to good decision-making on behalf of SMRT as well as an ability to address gaps in services for a community with a growing need for reliable public transit options. In the last few years, SMRT has made several changes to many of its buses and routes to make them easier and more accessible for users, and more changes are in the works. 

“Santa Maria is not immune to the cost of living that we see associated with the Central Coast,” Anguiano said. “Folks have to make a decision between buying a car or paying for rent or eating. If a bus can address those mobility needs, then perhaps we are helping address that gap for them.” 

Anguiano explained that SMRT tries to operate a reliable public transit system every day of the week for residents like Collar but noted that “no two days are exactly alike.” Hurdles such as road construction, traffic, and more riders than usual can greatly impact a bus driver’s ability to make it to stops on time. 

“The irony that we’re facing today, as we become much more popular with our community, [is] we are stopping more,” Anguiano said. “We are stopping more, and so that means we’re slowing down. The more people demand of us—and we’re happy to respond—the slower we progress through our route because there’s more pickup and drop-offs.”

SMRT is looking to address this dilemma as part of its next short-range transit plan system modifications, he said, adding that transit planning is a science and an art. 

“A lot of frequent stops in close proximity is great because you don’t have to walk very far for a bus stop, but once you’re on board, you’re doing a lot of stops before you get to where you’re going,” Anguiano said. “Infrequent stops are great because we travel long distance and get you really far fast, but it is not ideal for those who have to walk that long distance to get that stop. 

“We work really hard to achieve an appropriate balance for our community.”

In January, SMRT added new transit services to two of its routes to create new access points that meet the community’s increasing demand, Anguiano said. Now, as part of its annual unmet needs process, SMRT wants to develop a new route from Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo. 

“One need that’s come up a couple of times is more frequency to San Luis Obispo,” he explained. “Certainly, our communities are intertwined. In our industry, we talk about the job-housing imbalance that occurs, where there’s a concentration of jobs in one area, but that’s not necessarily where the homes are. Then, there’s a concentration of homes somewhere else, but that’s not necessarily where the jobs are.”

Additionally, SMRT is exploring a potential consolidation with the city of Guadalupe’s transit service to streamline operations and improve accessibility for residents in both communities. Anguiano said they are still very early on in this process, given that both city councils recently gave approval to begin exploring the options.

“The first step is to see if this even makes logistical sense,” he said. “Do we even have the resources? Do we even have the technical capability? Does it even work out as a business plan, right? And then, if we have an understanding that it can work operationally, then we go to the public and say, ‘Hey, how do you guys feel about this? What are your concerns? What are your thoughts?’”

With this potential consolidation, residents in Guadalupe could benefit from SMRT’s recent efforts to modernize its fleet, which included getting new buses with free public Wi-Fi, infotainment screens, medical-grade air purification, and personal USB charging stations. He also hopes that students in Guadalupe could gain access to SMRT’s Bulldog Go! program, which allows Hancock students to ride some routes for free. 

“We hope to have something to bring to the public within a month or two, and a recommendation to our City Council shortly after that, and some definitive plan in place by this summer,” he said. “We are moving pretty aggressively toward this. There’s a lot of need and good that can come of this, and so there’s no reason to delay it anymore than is necessary.”

Another improvement that SMRT hopes to accomplish by the end of 2025 is a full transition to zero-emission buses. It’s beneficial for the environment, Anguiano said, and cuts down significantly on operational and fuel costs. 

For those unfamiliar with public transportation or hesitant to use it, Anguiano suggests taking some test rides to quell any misconceptions about public transit and to get a good feel for how it works. 

“The first thing to do is dispel all the ideas that Hollywood put into your mind about what bus service looks and feels like,” he encouraged. “Your local experience is going to be way different than how it’s portrayed in big-city action movies. You’re going to find that you’re traveling with like-minded individuals to like destinations. 

“People like you are riding with you.”

Staff Writer Emma Montalbano can be reached at emontalbano@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in Mar 6-16, 2025.