Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT), formerly Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT), is a bus service local to Santa Maria, California, providing both intracity service within Santa Maria and intercity service within Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County, including routes to Guadalupe, Lompoc, Buellton, Solvang, Vandenberg Space Force Base, and San Luis Obispo.

History

Public transit service has been operated by the city of Santa Maria since 1978. That year, Santa Maria contracted the Santa Maria Organization of Transportation Helpers (SMOOTH) to operate a single fixed route along Broadway. A second fixed route was added in 1981, and Saturday operations began in 1982. SMOOTH operated Santa Maria's local service until 2004, when the contract was awarded to MV Public Transportation, Inc. That year, Sunday service was added, along with a fare increase.

First Transit was awarded the operations and maintenance contract in 2009. The Santa Maria Transit Center, which is the origin point for many intracity and all intercity lines, was opened in 2011, at 400 East Boone Street. Santa Maria awarded the operating contract to RATP Dev in 2018.

In December 2021, the Santa Maria City Council approved service changes to commence in January, including route consolidation, two new transfer sites, and the addition of timed transfers at the primary Transit Center hub. Amtrak Thruway buses, however, board across the freeway at 205 South Nicholson Avenue. With the update to the services, the agency was rebranded from Santa Maria Area Transit to Santa Maria Regional Transit.

Regional Expansion and Consolidation

In July 2023, the regional Breeze 100, 200, and New Cuyama routes were consolidated into Santa Maria Regional Transit and rebranded to SMRT routes 30, 20, and 50 respectively. This expanded SMRT service to the Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, and Vandenberg Space Force Base.

In June 2025, the city of Guadalupe consolidated its transit network into Santa Maria Regional Transit.

In October 2025, the creation of the Route 210 established an express commuter connection to downtown San Luis Obispo from the Santa Maria Crossroads Center.

Fleet Electrification

In 2025, Santa Maria Regional Transit completed a four-year fleet electrification initiative, making Santa Maria among the first cities in the United States to achieve full transit fleet electrification. This was a factor in SMRT receiving the Community Transportation Association of America's Large Transportation System of the Year Award in 2025.

Routes

Local routes

Regional Routes

Fares

Dial-a-ride

SMRT operates on-demand dial-a-ride paratransit services, covering the same area as the fixed-route local services.

SMRT Micro

SMRT operates a nighttime on-demand microtransit service. Weekday operating hours are 8:30PM to 10:30PM; weekend hours are 6:30PM to 8:30PM.

Bus fleet and facilities

Active fleet

Facilities

The SMRT Transit Center at 400 E Boone Street has multiple bus bays. The eight bus bays on the center island and four southernmost bus bays, serve intercity routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12X, 13X, and 14. The four northernmost bus bays (on the curb side, next to the transit center) serve longer-distance regional routes (Such as the 20 to Chumash, 30 to Lompoc, 40 to Guadalupe, and RTA Route 10 to San Luis Obispo).

Notes

References

External links