Merced County Transit

Last updated
Merced County Transit ("The Bus")
Merced TheBus Logo Main.png
ParentTransit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County
Founded1996
Headquarters1950 Wardrobe Ave
Merced, CA 95340
Service areaMerced County, California
Service type Bus 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, Chevrolet Arboc, Ford Glaval, Ford Starcraft, Dodge Grand Caravan [1]
Annual ridership1,000,000 [1]
Fuel typeGasoline, Diesel, Battery Electric
Operator Transdev [2]
Website mercedthebus.com

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]

Contents

History

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

Merced Transportation Center

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

The fleet consists fixed-route transit buses (larger heavy-duty buses and smaller cutaway buses) as well as ADA Paratransit and Dial-A-Ride cutaway buses and vans. The fixed-route fleet consists of Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel heavy-duty buses which range in size from 29' to 40', with a majority being 35', and five New Flyer XE40 Battery Electric heavy-duty buses which are 40' in length. The fixed-route fleet also consists of Chevrolet Arboc Spirit of Mobility cutaway buses for use on local and low ridership routes. Another set of 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. They 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. All CNG buses were later phased out by 2016 and were replaced by a combination of Gillig Clean Diesel buses and a small fleet of Chevrolet Arboc gasoline fueled cutaways. [1] In late 2019 and early 2020, The Bus was awarded grants to help begin the transition towards a zero-emission fleet. The first wave 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 estimated to begin production in late 2024 with expected delivery and in-service dates expected some time in 2025. The agency is also exploring other zero-emission bus options, including hydrogen, for longer commuter services.

The Bus Fleet Roster accurate as of February 2024
QtyFleet NumbersLengthMake/ModelFuel TypeStatus
Fixed Route Heavy-Duty Buses
5M-150, M-152 to M-15529'2011 Gillig Low FloorDieselSome still in service, some retired
2M-157, M-15840'2012 Gillig Low FloorDieselIn service
5M-159 to M-16340'2013 Gillig Low FloorDieselIn service
6M-164 to M-16935'2015 Gillig Low FloorClean DieselIn service
4M-170 to M-17335'2017 Gillig Low FloorClean DieselIn service
82901 to 290829'2023 Gillig Low FloorClean DieselDelivered

In service Est. Spring 2024

73501 to 350735'2021 Gillig Low FloorClean DieselIn service
54001E to 4005E40'2022 New Flyer XE40Battery ElectricIn service
1TBD

(Likely 3508E)

35'2024 Gillig Low Floor EVBattery ElectricOn order

Est. production late 2024

3TBD

(Likely 4006E to 4008E)

40'2024 Gillig Low Floor EVBattery ElectricOn order

Est. production late 2024

Fixed Route Cutaway Buses
11M-419 to M-42928'2014 Chevrolet Arboc Spirit of MobilityGasolineIn service
8M-430 to M-43728'2016 Chevrolet Arboc Spirit of MobilityGasolineIn service
Paratransit and Micro Transit Cutaway Buses
3M-10 to M-1226'2012 Ford Glaval E450GasolineIn service
6M-20 to M-2526'2011 Ford Glaval E450GasolineSome still in service, some retired
3M-214, M-216, M-21826'2009 Ford Glaval E450GasolineSome still in service, some retired
52501 to 250525'2023 Ford Starcraft Allstar E450GasolineIn service
22506, 250725'2022 Chevrolet G4500GasolineIn service
12TBD

(Likely 2601 to 2612)

26'Turtle Top Terra Transit E450GasolineOn order

Est. delivery 2024

Paratransit and Micro Transit Vans
3V-301 to V-30317'2015 Dodge Grand Caravan BrawnAbilityGasolineIn service
9V-304 to V-31221'2017 Ford Glaval 350HD Transit VanGasolineIn service

Services

15 fixed bus routes and 2 on-demand services are provided 7 days a week (with the exception of the UC route which is Weekdays 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 DescriptionWeekday Hours and FrequencyWeekend Hours and FrequencyDestinations
Current Routes and Services accurate as of February 2024
A1Atwater Cross-Town6:22 AM to 6:30 PM Every 60 Minutes8:49 AM to 6:05 PM Every 60 MinutesBellevue Rd, Winton Way, Broadway, Buhach Rd, Castle Air Force Base, Atwater Target
A2Winton Way6:18 AM to 7:04 PM Every 60 Minutes8:32 AM to 5:34 PM Every 60 MinutesConnects Atwater and the town of Winton via Winton Way
LLivingston Commuter6:14 AM to 8:14 PM Every 90 to 120 Minutes7:15 AM to 8:29 PM Four RunsConnects Livingston with Winton, Atwater, and Merced College (Merced)
LBLos Banos Commuter6:04 AM to 8:38 PM Every 90 to 120 Minutes7:30 AM to 7:51 PM Four RunsLos Banos-Dos Palos-Downtown Merced
M1Merced West6:01 AM to 8:07 PM Every 30 Minutes8:08 AM to 6:07 PM Every 90 MinutesSouthwest Merced-Downtown-Merced Marketplace-Northwest Merced via Highway 59
M2R Street Route6:09 AM to 8:10 PM Every 30 Minutes8:30 AM to 5:55 PM Every 60 MinutesDowntown-Merced Mall-Merced Marketplace via R Street
M3M Street Route6:12 AM to 8:02 PM Every 30 Minutes8:14 AM to 5:55 PM Every 90 MinutesSouth Merced-Downtown-Merced Mall-Merced College-via M Street
M4G Street North Route6:04 AM to 8:22 PM Every 30 Minutes8:00 AM to 5:52 PM Every 60 MinutesDowntown-Merced College-Mercy Hospital-Bellevue Ranch-via G Street
M5Merced Southeast5:56 AM to 8:14 PM Every 30 Minutes8:04 AM to 5:55 PM Every 60 MinutesSoutheast Merced-Amtrak-Downtown-via Childs Ave & 21st St.
M6Merced Northeast7:01 AM to 8:18 PM Every 45 Minutes8:13 AM to 5:53 PM Every 45 MinutesDowntown Merced-G Street-Hoover Middle School-Save Mart
M7G Street South Route6:13 AM to 7:59 PM Every 45 Minutes8:03 AM to 6:04 PM Every 45 MinutesDowntown Merced-Fairgrounds-Rescue Mission-via G Street
PPlanada Commuter6:00 AM to 8:52 PM Every 90 Minutes6:35 AM to 6:44 PM Four RunsLe Grand-Planada-Downtown Merced
TTurlock Commuter5:30 AM to 8:55 PM Every 60 Minutes9:00 AM to 6:45 PM Four RunsTurlock-CSU Stanislaus-Delhi-Livingston-Atwater-Downtown Merced via Highway 99
UCUC Route6:10 AM to 8:02 PM Every 40 MinutesNO SERVICEDowntown Merced-Amtrak-Merced College-UC Merced-via M Street and Yosemite Ave.
W1Winton Commuter5:23 AM to 8:47 PM Every 60 to 75 Minutes7:21 AM to 6:25 PM Every 120 to 135 MinutesWinton, Atwater(Bellevue Rd), Buhach, Beachwood-Franklin, Downtown Merced
The Micro Bus6:00 AM to 7:30 PM8:00 AM to 5:30 PMWestside 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 Paratransit6:00 AM to 7:30 PM8:00 AM to 5:30 PMOn-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

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "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