Merced County Transit ("The Bus")

Parent	Transit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County
Founded	1996
Headquarters	1950 Wardrobe Ave Merced, CA 95340
Service area	Merced County, California
Service type	Bus service, Dial-a-Ride Micro Transit
Routes	15[1]
Stops	238
Destinations	Communities of Merced, Atwater, Winton, Livingston, Delhi, Turlock, Dos Palos, Los Banos, Gustine, Planada, and Le Grand
Hubs	Downtown Transportation Center (Transpo), North Merced Transit Center (M Street)
Fleet	Gillig Low Floor, New Flyer XE40, Ford Starcraft, Chevrolet Starcraft, Turtle Top Terra Transit, Dodge Grand Caravan[1]
Annual ridership	1,000,000 [1]
Fuel type	Gasoline, Diesel, Battery Electric
Operator	Transdev[2]
Website	mercedthebus.com

Merced County Transit, also known as "The Bus", provides public bus transportation services throughout Merced County in the Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley areas of California. Vehicles are owned and maintained by Transit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County with daily operations conducted by a private contractor, Transdev.^[3]

The Bus was formed in 1996 by consolidating four local transit service providers.^[4]: 29

Located in the former Southern Pacific railway station at 16th and O Streets in Merced, the downtown transportation center (Transpo Center) serves as the hub for Merced's local, regional and national bus service.^[5] Greyhound provides bus service to Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles. YARTS and VIA Adventures provide bus service to Yosemite National Park. Situated at the same location, the California Welcome Center carries souvenirs, maps, and brochures for visitors, as well as YARTS bus tickets.^[6]

Another transportation center for North Merced was recently constructed on M Street near Bellevue Road which is intended to serve as a park and ride lot for UC Merced students, staff, and visitors to easily connect with The Bus and UC Merced shuttle bus services.

The fleet consists fixed-route transit buses as well as ADA Paratransit and Micro Transit cutaway buses and vans. The fixed-route fleet primarily consists of Gillig Low Floor Clean Diesel buses which range in size from 29' to 40', with most being 35', and both New Flyer XE40 and Gillig Battery Electric buses which are 35' and 40' in length. Another set of smaller cutaway buses and vans are primarily used to provide ADA Paratransit service throughout the county and Micro Transit service in the city of Los Banos and the westside of the county.

The agency began the greening of their fleet in 2006 with the purchase of 9 "clean air" Orion VII models and planned the construction of a compressed natural gas fueling facility.^[1] In late 2019 and early 2020, The Bus was awarded grants to help begin the transition towards a fully zero-emission fleet. The first set of five New Flyer XE40 battery electric buses arrived in late June 2023 and began service in early November 2023, with the next wave of four Gillig battery electric buses arriving in late September 2024 and beginning service in the fall of 2024. The agency is also exploring other zero-emission bus options, including hydrogen fuel cell, for future services in order to have a fully zero-emission fleet by 2041.

15 fixed bus routes and 2 on-demand services are provided 7 days a week (with the exception of the UC route which operates Monday through Friday only) operate within the city of Merced and throughout the county, as well as to the city of Turlock in neighboring Stanislaus County. However, the unincorporated community of Hilmar-Irwin which has a combined population of over 5,000 does not to have any of The Bus services, even though it is located within Merced County, along with the community of Snelling.^[7]

• Official website