Santa Cruz METRO has problems.

The county-wide bus system rolled out a well-publicized service increase that included hiring almost 100 new employees. The expanded service initiative was supposed to go fully live in December, but Metro didn’t have the bus fleet to support it.

But the poor state of the current bus fleet makes the announced timeline impossible until at least summer, when 53 hydrogen-fueled buses METRO purchased in 2023 are due to arrive. Meanwhile frustrated riders have complained about buses arriving late or routes being abruptly canceled.

Santa Cruz Metro CEO Corey Aldridge reiterated in a meeting with the Sentinel Editorial Board in late January that it had become clear to him in December that the agency he’s headed up for about nine months was unable to launch the last 10 percent of the route network improvement plan it had been rolling out piece by piece since late 2023.

As it is, Reimagine Metro had already led to a 2024 13 percent increase in ridership over 2023 numbers but Aldridge said the final, and critical, slice of service enhancements was delayed primarily because the 104-bus fleet powering the change was faltering. As more miles are put on the fleet for service, more preventative maintenance and repairs are needed, taking buses off the road. The useful life of a typical Metro bus is 15 years, but approximately half the Santa Cruz fleet have aged past that. At least two buses have logged more than 1 million miles.

The long-promised system upgrades were part of Reimagine Metro, that included 15-minute service time on major routes, bus-priority traffic signals and more.

Former Santa Cruz Mayor Mike Rotkin, who has served 36 years on the Metro board, told the Sentinel last month he was caught blindsided by the Dec. 20 announcement from Aldridge about the delay in service changes and that he felt riders were not alerted quickly enough.

“If what you’re trying to do is win over choice riders, have people decide, ‘No, this is dependable enough that I’m not going to buy a new car,’” said Rotkin. “People have to have confidence that when you say you’re going to do ‘x’ that ‘x’ is going to happen.”

Rotkin said he wished the notice had been put out sooner and that the Metro apology letter had been displayed more prominently. He also said the 13-member board was at fault too.

“We should be on top of this kind of stuff and we weren’t,” said Rotkin.

Another factor that caused Metro to rely on rapidly aging buses was the decision by the board in 2023 to spend about $87.4 million, mostly from state and federal grants, to purchase 57 hydrogen-powered, fuel cell electric buses for its fleet. That number has decreased to 53 in the face of rising costs. Aldridge said the hydrogen-fueled buses will help Metro launch the last leg of service improvements, tentatively, by September. Five hydrogen buses are on site now, he said, with most arriving by early summer, as Metro works on training maintenance staff to service the new buses and sets up the fueling system.

Metro hasn’t raised fares since 2015 and depends on contracts with UCSC, Cabrillo College, young riders, youth, and some housing developments. Most other riders put money in the fare box (or use their phone apps), and Metro finished 2024 in the black, said Aldridge. The system also is looking forward to bus-on-shoulder travel on under-construction Highway 1 lanes.

Metro’s operating budget includes 50 percent from the 2016 Measure D half-cent sales tax (Metro gets 16 percent of this tax revenue), 20 percent from fares, and 30 percent from federal funds. The latter, however, could be tenuous at best under the Trump administration and DOGE.

We wouldn’t be surprised if Metro’s financial and service realities result in another sales tax increase coming before county voters. Such a tax would need a two-thirds majority vote, and Metro’s recent retreat from its service expansion doesn’t exactly inspire confidence the transportation-vital system can deliver on promises and regain the trust, as it must, of riders and voters.