Gas prices got you down? Ride Stanislaus County buses for free through July

Need to get somewhere in Stanislaus County this month? You can ride the bus for free.

The county’s four transit providers — Modesto Area Express, Stanislaus County Regional Transit, Turlock Transit and Ceres Area Transit — are all taking part in the promotion, which runs through July.

The free offer includes commuter service to BART and the ACE train, but does not include Medivan and Dial-a-Ride services.

“MAX is updating its service in July by extending weekday and weekend evening service hours,” Adam Barth, MAX’s transit manager, said in a news release. “By providing free rides all of July, we hope to encourage residents to take advantage of the improved service and become familiar with MAX for free.”

The promotion is funded through a grant from the California Department of Transportation under the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, which was created to provide pay for transit agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve mobility, with a priority on serving disadvantaged communities, officials said.

Residents are encouraged to make the most of this free ride promotion by planning their trips in advance. Trip planning tools are available on the websites of the transit operators, as well as through smartphone apps such as Google Maps or the Transit app. These tools make it easy to determine the closest bus stop, the correct route, and in some cases real-time bus arrival information.

The free bus rides also include transportation to and from the Stanislaus County Fair, which runs July 12-21. After several years of free shuttle rides from Pitman High School and Stanislaus State University, last year the fair stopped offering them. Free rides were available, but the nearest bus stop to the fair still required a walk — not appealing in the Central Valley heat, and not practical for those with mobility issues.

This year, fair attendees can get dropped off at the Arch Gate, but they will have to change buses.

Turlock Transit is providing a free shuttle from the city’s Transit Center at Hawkeye Avenue and Golden State Boulevard to the fairgrounds. So attendees can get on any fixed-route bus — including Stanislaus County buses — that stops at the center. They also can pick up the bus at Lot 2 at Stanislaus State.

Turlock Transit will extend service on its route through midnight each day of the fair.

“The Fair is excited and thankful to partner with the Turlock’s Transit system once again,” Matt Cranford, CEO of the Stanislaus County Fair, said in a news release. “We are also thankful that the transit system was able to approve a drop off at our Arch Gate.”

Shuttle buses will pick up guests at the Arch Gate every 15 minutes and return to the Transit Center for guests to take a fixed route bus back to their original location. The Transit Center will be open for extended hours to provide access to restrooms, drinking fountains, and an air-conditioned lobby.

The route schedule can be found online at www.turlocktransit.com. Fair-specific transportation information can be found at www.turlocktransit.com/fair.

For more information on CAT and its services, visit https://www.ci.ceres.ca.us/220/Ceres-AreaTransit-CAT or call 209-527-4991.

For more information on MAX and its services, visit www.modestoareaexpress.com or call 209-521-1274.

For more information on StaRT and its services, visit www.srt.org or call 1-800-262-1516.

This story was originally published July 3, 2019 at 10:35 AM.