By Daily Nexus, January 13, 1977
Construction on a new transit center in Goleta may begin mid-February for completion by August, states Robert Yaco, Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) general manager.
The transit center, to be located at Hollister and Orange Avenue, in Goleta, will mainly serve residents in the Goleta Valley area. A commuter, for instance, may park his car at the transit center and take a bus to downtown Santa Barbara or as far as Summerland for $0.25. Students with reg cards may ride the buses free of charge.
Yaco called the transit center a “convenient stopping-off-place where those waiting for buses will be provided with heated or air conditioned shelter, restrooms and bus route information.”
In addition, MTD, through a $1.5 million grant, hopes to purchase 20 new buses. “This is solely to increase our service by decreasing the amount of time people must wait between stops,” Yaco commented.
MTD is currently awaiting approval for the center from the Environmental Qualitative Office before soliciting bids. If an environmental impact report is found unnecessary, the contractor will be chosen within the next few weeks and the estimated $400,000 project will begin construction in February.
MTD’s five-year goal is to build eight transit centers linking the southern coast from Carpinteria to Isla Vista. “Our Chapala Street transit center in Santa Barbara is widely used and already in need of expansion,” Yaco said. “Mass transportation is becoming more economical and we also hope to make it more pleasant and convenient.”
