Council agrees to explore consolidating Guadalupe transit service with Santa Maria Regional Transit

The Guadalupe City Council on Jan. 28 authorized staff to explore options for consolidating the city’s local bus service with Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMART).

City staff said Guadalupe currently contracts with a private operator (Smooth) for its small transit service and that Smooth’s contract will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Staff told the council that SMART has proposed purchasing buses, providing drivers and training, and taking on operations and reporting responsibilities; regional consolidation is being encouraged by the state and the regional planning agency (SB CAG) to reduce administrative burdens on small transit providers.

Staff said SMART has state-of-the-art driver training and could assume federal reporting responsibilities that are onerous for a small agency. The staff presentation noted that SMART could purchase and maintain buses, provide drivers and training, and potentially pick up existing local drivers so local jobs would not necessarily be lost.

Council members asked about possible disadvantages; staff said the main trade-off could be reduced local control, but that Santa Maria is a nearby partner and the consolidation could reduce administrative work for Guadalupe. Staff said detailed financial and operational analyses would be completed and brought back to the council for review before any final decision.

Council voted to adopt a resolution authorizing staff to explore consolidation and to proceed with studies and regional discussions. The motion passed by recorded vote.