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After outreach in the Spring and a Board of Directors decision in May 2026, Santa Barbara MTD bus service changes will go into effect at the beginning of the day on Monday, August 17, 2026.
With a growing budget deficit and a fiscal cliff drawing nearer, this reflects a 3.6 percent reduction in service. The deficit is largely due to changes from the 2020 Census which caused a loss of 30% of the agency's federal operating funds. Even with these reductions, MTD is facing a $4.9 million shortfall in Fiscal Year 2026-27. While there are currently still funds from federal pandemic assistance to cover that gap, those funds are shrinking as the deficit grows in future years. Below is a table with a description of these changes:
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Lines
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Description of Changes
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Lines 1 (West SB) & 2 (East SB)
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Reduced weekday headways from 15 to20 minutes
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Line 3 (Oak Park)
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Reduced service on Saturday to matchSunday service schedule
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Lines 4 (Mesa/SBCC) & 17 (Lower WestSB/SBCC)
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Reduced service on Saturday to matchSunday service schedule
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Line 5 (Mesa/La Cumbre)
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Reduced service on Saturday to matchSunday service schedule
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Line 7 (Goleta Old Town)
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Eliminate last weekday outbound trip
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Line 14 (Montecito)
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Eliminate one weekday AM roundtrip,bringing all day headways to 1 hour
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Line 14 (Montecito)
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Eliminate one Saturday AM roundtrip
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Lines 11 (UCSB), 23 (El Encanto Heights), &25 (Ellwood/Winchester Canyon)
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Eliminate last weekday: outbound 23 trip, inbound 25 trip, and inbound 11 trip
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Line 2730 (Dos Pueblos HS)
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Minor adjustment to Tuesday andThursday morning schedules
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The details of the service changes can be found at www.sbmtd.gov/servicechanges and the complete new schedule guide can be found online here.
For questions on the changes, the public may contact Santa Barbara MTD at 805-963-3366 or email info1@sbmtd.gov.
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