COMING SOON: The Wave
What’s The Wave?
The Wave is the name for Santa Barbara MTD’s upcoming all-electric microtransit service. Santa Barbara has funding to pilot this service for one year and will start with service in Goleta.
What is microtransit?
Microtransit is a flexible, on-demand, curb-to-curb service providing trips between any two points in a specified zone for a flat fare. Riders will order a ride on the Transloc app, or by calling the Transit Center. Much like a rideshare app, the rider will put in their starting point and ending point, and they’ll be told how many minutes before the van arrives.
Who can ride this service?
This service is open to the general public, not just seniors and people with disabilities.
How much does it cost?
The fare will be $3 standard, with seniors 62+ and people with disabilities paying $1.50. Microtransit riders transfer free to any MTD fixed route within one hour. Riders will pay via app or cash.
Where will it serve?
MTD has funds to pilot this service for a year, and will be starting in an area of Goleta. The zone includes an area bounded by Patterson to the east, Cathedral Oaks to the north, Los Carneros to the west, and 101 to the South. The housing and business park areas on either side of Los Carneros south of the freeway are also included.
Additionally, specific points at the following locations are available for drop off or pickup: Goleta Amtrak Station, Santa Barbara Airport, UCSB Bus Loop, Elings Hall stop, Isla Vista Community Center and El Colegio & Embarcadero del Mar outbound stop.
To see a map of the pickup areas, click here.
When will this service start?
Sometime in 2023. We need to recruit more bus operators to have the workforce to operate this and our regular service.
Frequently Asked Questions
The service is planned to run from 10:00am to 9:00pm Tuesday through Sunday.
The van will be outfitted with a mounted iPad that will give the operator turn-by-turn directions to each location. The software algorithm decides the most efficient routes based on distance and traffic.
Yes, this van is 100% battery electric.