Merced County Transit, also known as "The Bus", provides public bus transportation services throughout Merced County in the Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley areas of California. Vehicles are owned and maintained by Transit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County with daily operations conducted by a private contractor, Transdev.[3]

Merced County Transit ("The Bus")
ParentTransit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County
Founded1996
Headquarters1950 Wardrobe Ave
Merced, CA 95340
Service areaMerced County, California
Service typeBus service, Dial-a-Ride Micro Transit
Routes15[1]
Stops238
DestinationsCommunities of Merced, Atwater, Winton, Livingston, Delhi, Turlock, Dos Palos, Los Banos, Gustine, Planada, and Le Grand
HubsDowntown Transportation Center (Transpo), North Merced Transit Center (M Street)
FleetGillig Low Floor, New Flyer XE40, Ford Starcraft, Chevrolet Starcraft, Turtle Top Terra Transit, Dodge Grand Caravan[1]
Annual ridership1,000,000 [1]
Fuel typeGasoline, Diesel, Battery Electric
OperatorTransdev[2]
Websitemercedthebus.com

History

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The Bus was formed in 1996 by consolidating four local transit service providers.[4]: 29 

Merced Transportation Center

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Located in the former Southern Pacific railway station at 16th and O Streets in Merced, the downtown transportation center (Transpo Center) serves as the hub for Merced's local, regional and national bus service.[5] Greyhound provides bus service to Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles. YARTS and VIA Adventures provide bus service to Yosemite National Park. Situated at the same location, the California Welcome Center carries souvenirs, maps, and brochures for visitors, as well as YARTS bus tickets.[6]

Another transportation center for North Merced was recently constructed on M Street near Bellevue Road which is intended to serve as a park and ride lot for UC Merced students, staff, and visitors to easily connect with The Bus and UC Merced shuttle bus services.

Fleet

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The fleet consists fixed-route transit buses as well as ADA Paratransit and Micro Transit cutaway buses and vans. The fixed-route fleet primarily consists of Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel buses which range in size from 29' to 40', with most being 35', and both New Flyer XE40 and Gillig Battery Electric buses which are 35' and 40' in length. Another set of smaller cutaway buses and vans are primarily used to provide ADA Paratransit service throughout the county and Micro Transit service in the city of Los Banos and the westside of the county.

The agency began the greening of their fleet in 2006 with the purchase of 9 "clean air" Orion VII models and planned the construction of a compressed natural gas fueling facility.[1] In late 2019 and early 2020, The Bus was awarded grants to help begin the transition towards a fully zero-emission fleet. The first set of five New Flyer XE40 battery electric buses arrived in late June 2023 and began service in early November 2023, with the next wave of four Gillig battery electric buses arriving in late September 2024 and beginning service in the fall of 2024. The agency is also exploring other zero-emission bus options, including hydrogen fuel cell, for future services in order to have a fully zero-emission fleet by 2041.

The Bus Fleet Roster as of October 2024
Qty Fleet Numbers Length Make/Model Fuel Type Status
Fixed Route Diesel Buses
2 M-157, M-158 40' 2012 Gillig Low Floor Diesel In service
5 M-159 to M-163 40' 2013 Gillig Low Floor Diesel In service
6 M-164 to M-169 35' 2015 Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel In service
4 M-170 to M-173 35' 2017 Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel In service
8 2901 to 2908 29' 2023 Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel In service
7 3501 to 3507 35' 2021 Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel In service
Fixed Route Zero-Emission Buses
1 3508E (?) 35' 2024 Gillig Low Floor EV Battery Electric Delivered - In service Fall 2024
5 4001E to 4005E 40' 2022 New Flyer XE40 Battery Electric In service
3 4006E to 4008E (?) 40' 2024 Gillig Low Floor EV Battery Electric Delivered - In service Fall 2024
Paratransit and Micro Transit Cutaway Buses
5 2501 to 2505 25' 2023 Ford Starcraft Allstar E450 Gasoline In service
2 2506, 2507 25' 2022 Chevrolet Starcraft G4500 Gasoline In service
12 2601 to 2612 (?) 26' 2024(?) Turtle Top Terra Transit E450 Gasoline In service
Paratransit and Micro Transit Vans
3 V-301 to V-303 17' 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan BrawnAbility Gasoline In service
9 V-304 to V-312 21' 2017 Ford Glaval 350HD Transit Van Gasoline In service

Services

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15 fixed bus routes and 2 on-demand services are provided 7 days a week (with the exception of the UC route which operates Monday through Friday only) operate within the city of Merced and throughout the county, as well as to the city of Turlock in neighboring Stanislaus County. However, the unincorporated community of Hilmar-Irwin which has a combined population of over 5,000 does not to have any of The Bus services, even though it is located within Merced County, along with the community of Snelling.[7]

Rte. No. Route Description Weekday Hours and Frequency Weekend Hours and Frequency Destinations
Current Routes and Services as of October 2024
A1 Atwater Cross-Town 6:22 AM to 6:30 PM Every 60 Minutes 8:49 AM to 6:05 PM Every 60 Minutes Bellevue Rd, Winton Way, Broadway, Buhach Rd, Castle Air Force Base, Atwater Target
A2 Winton Way 6:18 AM to 7:04 PM Every 60 Minutes 8:32 AM to 5:34 PM Every 60 Minutes Connects Atwater and the town of Winton via Winton Way
L Livingston Commuter 6:14 AM to 8:14 PM Every 90 to 120 Minutes 7:15 AM to 8:29 PM Four Runs Connects Livingston with Winton, Atwater, and Merced College (Merced)
LB Los Banos Commuter 6:04 AM to 8:38 PM Every 90 to 120 Minutes 7:30 AM to 7:51 PM Four Runs Los Banos-Dos Palos-Downtown Merced
M1 Merced West 6:01 AM to 8:07 PM Every 30 Minutes 8:08 AM to 6:07 PM Every 90 Minutes Southwest Merced-Downtown-Merced Marketplace-Northwest Merced via Highway 59
M2 R Street Route 6:09 AM to 8:10 PM Every 30 Minutes 8:30 AM to 5:55 PM Every 60 Minutes Downtown-Merced Mall-Merced Marketplace via R Street
M3 M Street Route 6:12 AM to 8:02 PM Every 30 Minutes 8:14 AM to 5:55 PM Every 90 Minutes South Merced-Downtown-Merced Mall-Merced College-via M Street
M4 G Street North Route 6:04 AM to 8:22 PM Every 30 Minutes 8:00 AM to 5:52 PM Every 60 Minutes Downtown-Merced College-Mercy Hospital-Bellevue Ranch-via G Street
M5 Merced Southeast 5:56 AM to 8:14 PM Every 30 Minutes 8:04 AM to 5:55 PM Every 60 Minutes Southeast Merced-Amtrak-Downtown-via Childs Ave & 21st St.
M6 Merced Northeast 7:01 AM to 8:18 PM Every 45 Minutes 8:13 AM to 5:53 PM Every 45 Minutes Downtown Merced-G Street-Hoover Middle School-Save Mart
M7 G Street South Route 6:13 AM to 7:59 PM Every 45 Minutes 8:03 AM to 6:04 PM Every 45 Minutes Downtown Merced-Fairgrounds-Rescue Mission-via G Street
P Planada Commuter 6:00 AM to 8:52 PM Every 90 Minutes 6:35 AM to 6:44 PM Four Runs Le Grand-Planada-Downtown Merced
T Turlock Commuter 5:30 AM to 8:55 PM Every 60 Minutes 9:00 AM to 6:45 PM Four Runs Turlock-CSU Stanislaus-Delhi-Livingston-Atwater-Downtown Merced via Highway 99
UC UC Route 6:10 AM to 8:02 PM Every 40 Minutes NO SERVICE Downtown Merced-Amtrak-Merced College-UC Merced-via M Street and Yosemite Ave.
W1 Winton Commuter 5:23 AM to 8:47 PM Every 60 to 75 Minutes 7:21 AM to 6:25 PM Every 120 to 135 Minutes Winton, Atwater(Bellevue Rd), Buhach, Beachwood-Franklin, Downtown Merced
The Micro Bus 6:00 AM to 7:30 PM 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM Westside on-demand service within the Los Banos, Dos Palos, Santa Nella, and Gustine communities with expansion to the Merced, Atwater, and Winton communities planned in 2024
ADA Paratransit 6:00 AM to 7:30 PM 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM On-demand dial-a-ride service throughout the county exclusively for Seniors and ADA eligible passengers which provides service within a 3/4 mile radius of existing fixed route service areas

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "About Us". Transit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County. Archived from the original on 2009-11-16.
  2. ^ "Authorize Staff to develop and issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new contracted operator agreement for "The Bus" - Merced County Transit Re: 5 year agreement (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2015)". Merced County Board Of Supervisors. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.
  3. ^ "Merced County, California: countywide transit". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18.
  4. ^ LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. (June 30, 2017). Merced County 2017/18 - 2021/22 Short Range Transit Plan (Report). Merced County Associtation of Governments. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  5. ^ City of Merced - Visiting Us
  6. ^ California Welcome Center - Merced
  7. ^ THE BUS: Route maps and bus schedules Archived 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
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