The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District proposed fare increases for most single rides and multi-ride passes, due to cuts in federal funding. It is the first time the bus line is proposing changes to its fares in 16 years.

It is unclear if the potential fare increases will result in an increased lock-in fee for UCSB students. Photo Courtesy of SB MTD
Currently, the regular adult fare prices are $1.75 for individual rides, $11.50 for a 10-ride pass and $52 for a 30-day pass. The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) proposed two potential fare plans to the public. One has a smaller increase of 50 cents to individual rides for the regular fare and larger increases to 10-day and 30-day ride passes. The second has a larger increase of 75 cents to individual rides for the regular and smaller increases to passes. Day passes will remain at $6.
According to the Santa Barbara MTD website, fares have not changed in 16 years. Several factors led to the need for fare increases, including ridership remaining below pre-pandemic levels, a labor shortage in 2022 that resulted in reduced services and a more than 10% rise in operational costs since 2019.
Since 1985, the SBMTD has provided free, unlimited bus services to UC Santa Barbara students through the Associated Students transit lock-in fee of $13.13 per quarter. It is unclear if the potential fare increases will result in an increased lock-in fee and when that might occur. However, the lock-in fee did go up after the last fare increas in 2009 from $9.38 in 2008 to $13.13 in 2012 when the contract was reaffirmed, as it occurs every four years.
UCSB Media Relations Manager Kiki Reyes did not immediately respond to requests for comment on potential increases to the transit fee.
According to SBMTD Planning and Marketing Manager Hillary Blackerby to the Santa Barbara Independent, roughly one-third of all SBMTD riders are students from Santa Barbara City College, local K-12 schools and UCSB.
Although fare revenue accounts for only 20% of the MTD’s operating budget, the transit district lost approximately $3 million in funding from the Federal Transit Administration.
This was due to the 2020 U.S. Census, which classified Santa Barbara as a “large urbanized area” after documenting that the population exceeded 200,000 people. The categorization disqualified Santa Barbara County from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Small Transit Intensive Cities funding.
“Without a fare adjustment, the District may be forced to reduce service,” the SBMTD website said.
The increase in fare cost aims to partially compensate for the loss in FTA funding. Both alternative plans are estimated to generate roughly $1.5 million annually, meaning there would still be $1.5 million less than when SBMTD had the FTA funding.
A survey regarding the proposed plans is available in both Spanish and English. The final public meeting to field public opinions is on Feb. 5, from 6-7 p.m. in the Carpinteria Community Library. The outreach period will last until mid-February.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Jan. 30, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.