Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD), or simply Santa Cruz METRO, provides bus service throughout Santa Cruz County, California. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Santa Cruz METRO also operates the Highway 17 Express service for Amtrak Thruway between the city of Santa Cruz and San Jose Diridon station, in partnership with Amtrak California and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. History Santa Cruz METRO was created in 1968 as a special district within Santa Cruz County with taxing authority. Service was initially to the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Live Oak. Santa Cruz METRO extended service to Watsonville, Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley in 1974. In 1979, voters approved a measure to change the financing of Santa Cruz METRO from a property tax to a 1/2 cent sales tax. The Amtrak Thruway Highway 17 Express service between Santa Cruz and San Jose started as an emergency bus service after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake closed Highway 17. A strike in September 2005 lasted for 35 days and stranded up to 23,000 riders. In 2011 fixed route service was severely cut then restored mere months later. In 2012 Santa Cruz METRO received grant funding to construct the Judy K. Souza Operations Facility. Year Round Routes Route 4 – Harvey West/Emeline Route 10 – UCSC via Main Gate – High Route 17 – Highway 17 Express Route 18 – UCSC via Main Gate – Mission Route 19 – UCSC via West Gate – Bay Route 20 – UCSC via Main Gate – Delaware/Western Route 22 – UCSC via Main Gate – Almar/Bay Route 35 – Highway 9/Scotts Valley Route 42 – Davenport/Bonny Doon Route 55 – Cabrillo – Rio Del Mar Route 66 – Live Oak/17th Route 68 – Broadway/Portola Route 69A/69W – Capitola/Cabrillo/Airport Route 71 – Soquel/Freedom Route 72 – Green Valley – Hospital Route 72W – Green Valley – Corralitos Route 74S – Pajaro Valley High School/Hospital Route 75 – Green Valley – Wheelock Route 79 – East Lake Route WC – Watsonville Circulator Route 91X – Cabrillo Express Routes operating only during UCSC terms Route 15 – UCSC via Laurel West Discontinued Routes Route 1 – University Route 1B – University/Lower Bay Route 1H – University/High Route 1L – University/Laurel Route 1W – University/Walnut Route 1Y – University Shuttle Route 2 – Western Drive Route