Frank Ferry

With gas prices high, it’s a good time to check out mass transit options in and around our community.

You may be surprised to learn that Santa Clarita Transit provides a wide range of transportation services for teens, families and seniors that save money, increase mobility options, reduce commuting stress, and travel to surrounding cities.

This summer season, Santa Clarita Transit is excited to offer a variety of services to make it easy, fun, and affordable to ride the bus to the beach, travel throughout town, or visit other neighboring cities.

Summer Beach Bus

The City of Santa Clarita is proud to bring back the 2012 Summer Beach Bus. This service allows community members to enjoy sun and sand in Santa Monica throughout the summer months. The air-conditioned transit ride provides the perfect opportunity for community members to enjoy a relaxing ride to the beach without the hassles associated with driving.

Traveling on Saturdays and Sundays from June 9 through Sept. 2, fares are $3 each way for children and adults, and $1.50 each way for persons with disabilities, and seniors 60 years of age and over.

Thursdays @ Newhall

Santa Clarita Transit offers a variety of local bus routes to visit Main Street and enjoy fresh, fun and original events every Thursday night. With street festivals, fresh produce, food trucks, art, entertainment, shopping, and dining, Thursdays @ Newhall has become the local hot spot for community members to enjoy an experience unlike any other in Santa Clarita.

Thursdays @ Newhall include:

Farmers’ Market – Home to some of the region’s best farm-fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, and specialty food items, the Farmers’ Market takes place every Thursday night, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

ArtWalk – This event combines distinctive art, gourmet food trucks, and hands-on art experiences for art enthusiasts of all ages. Art Walk is hosted every first Thursday, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and runs in conjunction with the weekly Farmers’ Market.

SENSES – Awaken your senses at this monthly themed block party where bands, food trucks, activities, contests, and more get the weekend started right. SENSES is hosted every third Thursday, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and runs in conjunction with the weekly Farmers’ Market.

757 NoHo Express

The 757 NoHo (North Hollywood) Express is a valley-to-valley transit service that gets residents just about anywhere they want to go, seven days a week.  The route provides frequent opportunities to connect to LADOT Express services, Burbank Bus, numerous Metro bus services, as well as Metro’s Orange and Red Line services.

The added convenience of mid-day return trips aboard the City’s 757 NoHo Express allows community members to connect to major destinations, including Los Angeles Union Station, the Staples Center, Hollywood, Universal City, Van Nuys, Burbank, Pasadena, and Long Beach.

Cutting-edge Technology

Thanks to the City’s Transit Information Network, residents no longer have to worry about bus arrival and departure times. Riders can receive up-to-the-minute information on the current location of a bus via the web, cell phone or one of 30 arrival display signs installed at key areas throughout Santa Clarita.

Smart phone users can receive information by scanning the QR Code located at each bus stop or visiting the mobile website, m.santa-clarita.com. Simply enter the five-digit stop ID number found at each bus stop and let the interactive system do the rest.

To view this information on a Bus Finder, simply press the button on the blue display unit that directly corresponds with the route and receive real-time schedules and arrival times specific to that stop. A Bus Finder Map is also available online for passengers looking to identify a route’s arrival times prior to boarding the bus.

Santa Clarita Transit is committed to making it easy and affordable to use public transportation. For more information about Santa Clarita Transit, visit us online at: SantaClaritaTransit.com, or call 661-294-1BUS (1287).

As always, I welcome your thoughts, ideas and comments. Feel free to email me at: fferry@santa-clarita.com.