Parents of middle school and high school students (7 – 12 grade) will see refined SLO Transit options for this school year. Laguna Middle School students now have specific access from four SLO Transit routes (2A, 2B, 3A and 3B) and SLO High School students will again be able to transfer from every SLO Transit route to the San Luis Drive Tripper route which goes right by SLO High.
SLO Transit implemented systemwide improvements on June 18, 2017 with new routes, new schedules, and a moderate expansion of service. These improvements are consistent with the City’s Short-Range Transit Plan (2017-22) adopted by the City Council in September of 2016.
For Laguna Middle School students, Routes 2A and 2B provide new connections from South Higuera. Routes 3A and 3B provide connections from Foothill boulevard, nearly identical to the Route 4 and 5 connections from last year. Additionally, a newly refined Route 3B schedule becomes effective on August 21. Route 3B will service the Laguna Middle bus stop at 0:10 after the hour, better aligning with the 8:15 a.m. school start time.
For SLO High School students, the Tripper will resume service on August 21, providing a connection from downtown to the San Luis Drive neighborhood. The Tripper makes three morning and afternoon trips that coincide with SLO High School start and end times. The timing is designed so the public can make connections with the Tripper bus from Routes 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B in the morning and afternoon. Since Tripper service began in 2015, Tripper ridership has grown by more than 50 percent, with K-12 student pass usage doubling.
Youth (K – 12 grade) ride SLO Transit free until Labor Day, September 4. Conveniently, transit passes are sold at Boo Boo Records, SLO Chamber of Commerce and the City Finance Counter. Student discount passes are also sold at Laguna Middle School and SLO High School. “We’re seeing large growth in use of our Discounted Student Passes,” said Transit Manager Gamaliel Anguiano. Laguna Middle school sold its highest number of student passes during the 2016-17 school year.
SLO Transit is the local fixed-route transit operation for the City of San Luis Obispo, operating out of the City’s Public Works Department. SLO Transit operates eight vehicles at peak along eight fixed routes within the 23 square miles of the city limits of San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly. SLO Transit operates Monday through Friday, approximately from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can learn more by visiting www.SLOTransit.org.