A notable change is coming soon for riders of most buses in Stanislaus County
The Modesto Area Express is merging with Stanislaus Regional Transit, bringing a single operator for most buses in the county.
The new entity’s board will hold its first meeting Wednesday, Feb. 10. This follows unanimous approval of the idea Jan. 26 by the Modesto City Council and the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.
The plan grew out of a 2019 report to the Stanislaus Council of Governments, which oversees transportation planning for the county and its nine cities. It looked at merging MAX, START and Turlock Transit. The last of these opted out of the process.
Proponents said the merged system will provide a single set of fares and routes while enhancing efficiency in bus maintenance, personnel management and other tasks.
No changes are planned until further study of the current operations. This includes a name and logo for the new entity.
MAX has long served Modesto and Salida and last year took over buses in Ceres. It also has service to Escalon and to transit centers in Manteca and Stockton. Rail passengers can ride MAX to the Modesto Amtrak station, the Altamont Corridor Express depot in Lathrop and the BART station in Dublin.
START overlaps with part of the MAX service area and also has buses in Riverbank, Oakdale, Waterford, Hickman, Empire, Hughson, Turlock, Keyes and the West Side. It has routes as well to Gustine in Merced County and to Dublin BART.
Supervisor Terry Withrow is one of two county board members on the new governing body. He noted that the county once had five transit systems when the defunct Riverbank-Oakdale trolley is included.
“Improving transit performance is our main goal and objective,” Withrow said in a news release. “There are many residents that rely on transit as their only mobility option.”
The new board is the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority. It also includes Supervisor Vito Chiesa and Modesto council members Jenny Kenoyer and Bill Zoslocki.
A fifth member will be appointed by the Modesto council and county board to represent a city other than Modesto or Turlock.
Wednesday’s meeting will be via Zoom and start at 1:30 p.m. The agenda and instructions on taking part are at www.StanRTA.org.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 12:56 PM.
