Santa Barbara MTD has started serving the Funk Zone with a route change for the downtown shuttle, the agency announced Monday.
“The Downtown Shuttle will originate at the Dolphin Fountain, turn right on Mason Street, left on Anacapa Street, and left on Yanonali Street, serving a new stop in front of Oreana Winery. The shuttle then continues to State Street, turns right and continues uptown before heading towards the beach,” an MTD news release reads.
The MTD and the city of Santa Barbara decided to extend the shuttle to the Funk Zone.
“With ten to fifteen minute frequency in the summer and shuttles running until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, we think the Downtown Shuttle is the best way to get around for a Santa Barbara summer day. We’re excited to add the Funk Zone as a destination on this route,” Jerry Estrada, general manager of Santa Barbara MTD, said in the news release.
“We arrived at this decision together. We weren’t far from Funk Zone and it allows us to help with the parking crunch uptown,” said Hillary Blackerby, MTD’s interim planning and marketing manager,
“It’s a permanent change,” Ms. Blackerby said.
“In addition to the new routing, our Downtown and Waterfront Shuttles will be fully trackable on our BusTracker app so you know exactly how many minutes away the shuttle is from your stop,” Ms. Blackerby said in the press release.
MTD’s older buses were not trackable but the district’s new electric shuttle fleet does have tracking equipment, Ms. Blackerby said.
Ms. Blackerby pointed pointed out that the MTD has a shuttle day pass that costs a dollar for unlimited rides on the downtown and waterfront shuttles. Unused passes do not expire, according to the news release.
MTD also plans to increase service for Line 28, which serves the Isla Vista/UCSB area, in August, Ms. Blackerby said.
