Not only are the buses smaller, but the fares have shrunk,
too.
Morgan Hill – Not only are the buses smaller, but the fares have shrunk, too.
The Valley Transportation Authority launched its community bus service Monday in South County, placing smaller, cheaper-to-ride buses on six local routes in Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
Adult riders pay $1 at the fare box and seniors and children pay 50 cents. Fares on regular VTA buses, such as routes 68 and 121, remain $1.75 for adults, $1.50 for children 5 to 17 and 75 cents for seniors 65 and older.
The new buses will run hourly during the week on lines 15 and 16 in Morgan Hill. Line 15 has been changed to provide weekday service from 9am to 3pm between Saddleback Drive and Watsonville Road, stopping at the Centennial Recreation Center on Edmundson Avenue. As a trade-off, line 15 weekday service to Holiday Lake Estates has been reduced from 6am to 6pm to 6-9am and 3-6pm.
Line 16 will continue to serve Sobrato and Live Oak high schools, the Peak Avenue civic center, Cochrane Plaza shopping center, Madrone Mobile Estates and Britton Middle School.
In Gilroy, the VTA is introducing community bus service on lines 14, 17, 18 and 19. Line 18 replaces the former southern tip of line 68 and will operate between the Gilroy Transit Center and Gavilan College. Line 68 will continue to take South County riders from the Gilroy Transit Center to San Jose Diridon Station, seven days a week.
It also serves Gilroy High School. Line 14 operates between the Gilroy Transit Center and the Gilroy Crossings shopping area, formerly served by line 17.
The agency launched the smaller busses after months of planning and a two-year pilot program in Los Gatos. VTA officials hope to streamline costs and make route-planning more flexible with the smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
VTA’S NEW COMMUNITY BUSSES
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Single-ride fares are $1 for adults and 50 cents for seniors 65 and older and children 5 to 17.
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Route 15 provides weekday hourly trips, 6-9am and 3-6pm between the base of Holiday Lake Estates and the Morgan Hill Civic Center. It will also provide midday service, 9-3pm between Saddleback Drive and Watsonville Road, via Dunne Avenue, the Morgan Hill Civic Center and the Centennial Recreation Center.
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Route 16 provides weekday hourly trips, 6:30am-5:30pm between Sobrato High School and the Civic Center. The route also serves Cochrane Plaza shopping center, Madrone Mobile Estates and Britton Middle School.
