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. https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/santa-maria-regional-transit-s-consolidation-of-breeze-line-goes-into-effect-july-1/article_4f533e77-73b0-593a-a18f-f3bf46751c78.html/
In June 2025, the city of Guadalupe consolidated its transit network into Santa Maria Regional Transit. https://www.cityofsantamaria.org/Home/Components/News/News/17884/
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.https://www.slocity.org/Home/Components/News/News/11624/2359/
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. https://www.gillig.com/2025/10/31/santa-maria-regional-transit-earns-national-award-and-achieves-100-electric-fleet/
Routes
Local routes https://online.fliphtml5.com/ridesmrt/SMRT---Ride-Guide---July-2026---Update/#p=1/ RouteTerminalsViaNotes1Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Hidden Pines Wy & Preisker LnBroadway2Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Suey Crossing Rd & Donovan RdWestern Av, Donovan RdSanta Maria Pioneer Valley High School 3Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Suey Crossing Rd & Donovan RdMain St, Suey RdSanta Maria Pioneer Valley High School 4Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria CrossroadsCook St, Thornburg St, Betteravia Rd5Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Lakeview Rd & Orcutt ExpyMiller St, Santa Maria Wy Serves Allan Hancock College6Santa Maria Bradley Rd & Crossroads LnSanta Maria Blosser Rd & Terrazzo WyBradley Rd7Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria McCoy Ln & BroadwayBradley Rd Serves Allan Hancock College8Santa Maria Sandalwood & Black RdSanta Maria Bradley Rd & Crossroads LnMahoney Rd, McCoy Ln9Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Suey Crossing Rd & Donovan RdAlvin AvSanta Maria Pioneer Valley High School 11Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Bradley Rd & Crossroads LnBroadway12XSanta Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Clark Ave & Orcutt RdBroadway13XSanta Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Suey Crossing Rd & Donovan RdBroadway, Donovan RdSanta Maria Pioneer Valley High School 14Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Maria Fairway DrMain St, S Blosser RdServes Santa Maria Airport
Regional Routes RouteTerminalsViaNotes20Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterSanta Ynez Chumash Casino ResortUS 101, SR 246 Former Breeze 200 Serves Allan Hancock College30Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterLompoc Lompoc Transit HubSR 1 Former Breeze 100 Serves Santa Maria Airport40Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterGuadalupe Guadalupe Amtrak StationMain St, SR 166Formerly the Guadalupe Flyer Connects Santa Maria to Amtrak service41Guadalupe Guadalupe LocalGuadalupe Guadalupe LocalFormerly Guadalupe Transit50Santa Maria Santa Maria Transit CenterNew Cuyama Recreation DistrictSR 166Reservations Required $6.00 flat fare, $3.00 with qualifying discount210 ExpressSanta Maria Crossroads Shopping CenterSan Luis Obispo Downtown Transit CenterUS 101Morning and evening commuter service only
Fares Fare type SMRT Regional Routes One-way PassesOne-way 1-day 7-day 31-day Regular $1.50 $3.00 $12.00 $31.00$2.00 Student $1.25 Qualified discount $0.75 $1.50 $6.00 $15.00$1.00ChildrenFreeFreeFreeFreeFree
Dial-a-ride SMRT operates on-demand dial-a-ride paratransit services, covering the same area as the fixed-route local services. https://www.cityofsantamaria.org/services/departments/department-of-public-works/santa-maria-regional-transit/ada-service/
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. https://www.cityofsantamaria.org/services/departments/department-of-public-works/santa-maria-regional-transit/microtransit/
Bus fleet and facilities
Active fleet Make/ModelFleet numbersYearEngineTransmissionGillig Low Floor 29'3018-1862018Cummins L9Allison B400R3020-1772020Gillig Low Floor 35'3518-178 to 3518-179, 3518-18420183521-202 to 3521-2032021Proterra ZX53522-200E to 3522-201E2022Parker GVM310-200 240 kW permanent magnet motorEaton 4-speed auto-shift EV transmissionNew Flyer XE353524-202e to 3524-210e2024Siemens ELFA3XALT EnergyGillig BRT 40'4010-1952010Cummins ISL9Allison B400RGillig Low Floor 40'4014-160 to 4014-162, 4014-165, 4014-167 to 4014-168, 4014-174, 4014-176, 4014-1802013Allison B500R4014-1942014Gillig BRT 40'4017-198 to 4017-1992017Cummins L9Allison B400RGillig Low Floor Plus EV 35' 24-211e to 24-215e2024Cummins Battery Electric SystemDirect drive25-215e to 25-220e2025Karsan eJestM23-1 to M23-142023BMW i-Traction electric motor
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).
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