Santa Cruz METRO Offers Free Fares on California Clean Air Day 

Free rides on October 7 support cleaner air and Week Without Driving 

For Immediate Release
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Contact: Danielle Frost
(831) 420-2550
dfrost@scmetro.org

Santa Cruz, CA (September 30, 2026) — Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) will offer free fares on all METRO services, including local fixed routes, Highway 17 Express and ParaCruz, on Wednesday, October 7, in recognition of California Clean Air Day. 

By offering free fares, METRO hopes to encourage community members to leave their cars at home, try public transportation and take an active role in reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. 

“California Clean Air Day reminds us that the choices we make each day can have a meaningful impact on the health of our environment and community,” said Corey Aldridge, METRO CEO. “By offering free fares, we hope more people will experience how public transportation can provide a convenient and sustainable way to reach the places that matter most.” 

California Clean Air Day is a statewide initiative built around the idea that individual actions can collectively improve air quality and community health. Californians are encouraged to take simple actions such as riding public transit, walking or biking, planting a tree, composting food waste and purchasing locally grown produce. 

To register, please visit www.cleanairday.org/pledge/individual/SantaCruzMETRO1/ (English) or www.cleanairday.org/es/pledge/individual/SantaCruzMETRO1/ (Spanish). 

This year, California Clean Air Day takes place during Week Without Driving, a countywide initiative running October 1–8. Week Without Driving invites community members to experience how they would navigate daily life without relying on a personal vehicle by walking, biking, rolling, carpooling or riding public transit. 

Together, the two initiatives highlight how sustainable transportation choices can reduce emissions while building greater awareness of the mobility challenges faced by people who cannot drive because of age, disability, income, access or other circumstances. Riding METRO for free on October 7 is one way community members can participate in both initiatives and experience local transit firsthand. 

Week Without Driving will also include a community celebration on Friday, October 2, at Capitola Mall, featuring local organizations, transportation and accessibility advocates, community resources, games, raffles and food trucks. 

Community members can learn more about California Clean Air Day and take the Clean Air Pledge at cleanairday.org. 

To learn more and participate in Week Without Driving, visit scmetro.org/WWD. 

For METRO routes, schedules and trip-planning information, visit scmetro.org. 

About Us  

Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO)  

Established in 1968, METRO’S mission is to provide environmentally sustainable transportation to Santa Cruz County. METRO directly operates countywide, fixed-route and Highway 17 commuter service, with connections to Santa Clara County and Monterey Salinas Transit at our Watsonville Transit Center. The agency also operates ParaCruz paratransit service. Today, METRO operates a fleet of 104 buses on 20 fixed routes and 32 paratransit vehicles.  

In FY26 METRO provided 5.5 million fixed-route trips and 69,000 ParaCruz trips connecting residents to employment, schools, and medical appointments. In the last three years METRO’s ridership has increased over 74%, now 11% above pre-COVID levels, resulting in the agency’s highest ridership levels since 2011. 

Every ride on a METRO bus takes cars off the road, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and supports economic opportunity and quality of life in our community. Moving into the future, METRO strives to increase transit ridership to 7 million trips annually within the next five years, transition to a zero-emissions fleet with a mix of hydrogen and electric vehicles, and increase affordable housing at METRO-owned transit centers to 175 units in the next 10 years.  

For more information, visit scmetro.org.