Our mission...
leading, advocating,
and delivering
quality public transportation.

 BACKGROUND

Monterey-Salinas Transit was formed in 1981 when Monterey Peninsula Transit absorbed the Salinas Transit System . The City of Salinas became a member of the Monterey Peninsula Transit joint powers agency, and the Board of Directors renamed the system Monterey-Salinas Transit.

Current members of the joint powers agency are the Cities of Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Seaside, and the County of Monterey, and Gonzales (ex officio). A Board of Directors with a representative from each member jurisdiction governs the agency and appoints the General Manager.

 SERVICE AREA

Monterey-Salinas Transit serves a 280 square-mile area of Monterey County and Southern Santa Cruz County. MST's 37 routes serve an estimated 352,000 population based upon the area within 3/4 mile of established routes within the county.

 ROUTE STRUCTURE

MST’s 37 routes provide service primarily in the Monterey Peninsula jurisdictions and in the Salinas Valley. Intercity service is provided via Highway 68 and Highway 1 between these two urban areas of Monterey County. In addition, intercity routes connect MST with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District at their Transit Center in Watsonville. Further, MST provides rural transit service to Carmel Valley and seasonal service to Big Sur, and along the Monterey waterfront (The MST Trolley). Routes on the Monterey Peninsula have been reviewed and modified according to the recommendations in the Penninsula Area Service Study.

 MAJOR STUDIES

Penninsula Area Service Study (PASS) (9/17/06)   

Short Range Transit Plan (4/11/06)

2006 MST ADA Complementary Paratransit (RIDES) Plan (06/14/06)

Designing For Transit Manual - (pdf-15MB)

 MAJOR PROJECTS

Frank J. Lichtanski Monterey Bay Operations Center 
MST currently operates out of two major facilities. Built in 1978, the Thomas D. Albert Monterey facility has outgrown its original design capacity by nearly 40%. In Salinas, the Clarence J. Wright facility was constructed in 1986 with parking for 23 buses. Today, there are a total of 35 buses stored, inspected and serviced at this location, exceeding design capacity by over 50%. Clearly, MST has outgrown both its operating divisions in Monterey and Salinas, as the risk of in-yard collisions increases due to the congestion. In addition, fleet expansion to meet growing community needs requires upgraded maintenance, operations and administrative facilities to provide adequate support, including space for 60-foot articulated buses. At full build-out, the facility will support a fleet of 205 buses, 50 paratransit vehicles and 60 support vehicles and 550 employees. Also included are a body shop, paint facilities, central warehousing, dispatching office, driver training facilities, customer service center, and employee/visitor parking. MST owns a 13.15-acre property on the former Fort Ord that will serve as the site of the Frank J. Lichtanski Monterey Bay Operations Center. Estimated cost to design and construct the facility is approximately $25 million. MST will award a contract for final design, engineering and environmental analysis in early 2008, with completion of construction anticipated by 2011. The Frank J. Lichtanski Operations Center is named after MST’s long-time General Manager/CEO who served in that capacity for nearly a quarter century. He was a part of the MST family for over 30 years and a leader in the public transportation arena. He passed away suddenly on June 9, 2005.

Accelerated Bus Replacement Acquisition 
In 2002 MST leveraged a grant to buy 12 buses into a debt-financing package to purchase 46 new buses. The majority of these buses replaced vehicles that had been in use on average for over 16 years and had incurred over one million miles of service apiece. Replacing these buses was critical to MST’s ability to maintain existing transit services to the community, meet mandated improvements in engine
emissions, and expand public transit services. The new buses are more fuel-efficient, are less costly to operate, will save MST $3.9 million of future maintenance and fuel costs, and provide a 98.5 percent
reduction in engine particulate matter emissions. While there are still four years worth of payments left on this financing package, MST could pay off the entire debt now for $6.3 million. Doing so would save MST nearly $700,000 in interest payments over the next four years. Early retirement of debt will result in savings that can be redirected to the community to meet mandated improvements in engine emissions, and to expand public transit services. 

Safety and Security  
During 2007, an increase in crime was noted in parts of the MST service area. At the same time, homeland security remains a high-profile concern among transit agencies across the nation. In this atmosphere of rising crime and potential vulnerability, MST has taken significant steps to insure the safety and security of its passengers, vehicles and facilities. MST buses are being outfitted with up to eight cameras each, while the Salinas Transit Center and the new Marina Transit Exchange both have surveillance equipment that are linked via T-1 line to MST’s Monterey communication center and other administrative offices. This enables staff to monitor conditions and activities in “real-time” at MST facilities. MST is successfully working with local law enforcement agencies to investigate, apprehend and ultimately convict individuals accused of violent crimes. This video equipment is also seen as an effective deterrent to illegal gang activities. Currently, MST is seeking additional resources to complete its comprehensive safety and security program, which includes additional cameras as well as the hardening of MST operations and maintenance facilities with controlled access security gates.

Transit Oriented Development  
MST currently owns over 60 acres of land at seven different sites throughout Monterey County. In 2007,
MST completed a land utilization plan that outlines mixed-use, transit-friendly methods of developing these parcels into income-producing properties. At full build-out, the land use plan indicated that approximately $23 million in potential revenue could be generated to provide MST local funding for operations and capital projects as well as additional ridership.

FY 2007 Annual Financial Report (2/07/07)

FY 2006 Annual Financial Report (1/03/07)

FY 2005 Annual Financial Report (1/04/06)

• 97.6% of passengers believe public transit service is “good for the community.”
• 95% of riders state that MST services are valuable when considering both distance and cost.
• 76.8% of passengers believe that MST services have improved over the last year.
• Work is the primary purpose of all MST trips at 40%. The next most popular destination is school at 15%, followed by shopping at 14%.
• Exceeding the state’s requirement, MST has reduced fleet emissions by 98.5% since 2002.
• U.S. greenhouse gases (GHGs) from transportation represent 33% of total U.S. GHG emissions.
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2) represents over 95% of total greenhouse gas emissions from mobile transportation.
• Public transportation’s national reduction of 6.9 million metric tons of CO2 annually exceeds the transportation CO2 emissions that exist in states such as North Dakota (6.3 million metric tons) and Delaware (5.0 million metric tons).
• A solo commuter switching his or her commute to existing public transportation on a single day every week can reduce CO2 emissions by 20 pounds or more than 4,800 pounds in a year, about ten percent of a two-car family household’s carbon footprint of 22 metric tons per year.
• Reducing the daily use of one low occupancy vehicle and using public transit can reduce a two-car household’s carbon footprint between 25-30%. A two-car household switching all travel to transit can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 50%.
• Most transit trips are taken by people who regularly use public transportation. Nearly two-thirds of trips are taken by riders who take transit five or more days a week.
• More than one-third of all transit riders have household incomes of $50,000 or more (34.3%). Almost 10% of transit riders have household incomes of $100,000 or more. Almost half of respondents said they have household incomes ranging from $15,000 to $49,999 (45.6%).

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