History
CityBus began service in 1958 and was known as the “Santa Rosa Municipal Transit System”. It did not become known as CityBus until 1987. In 1958 the population of Santa Rosa was 29,866, of which 1,035 riders utilized the bus daily. The fare to ride the bus was $.20 for adults and $.10 for children 16 and under. In addition to the fares, the City funded the service with a percentage of the local property taxes. Prior to 1958 the City contracted with several vendors to provide transit service. Due to high operating costs, none were successful.
An outside contractor began managing the bus operators in 1979, while the City’s fleet maintenance department maintained the buses. At this time the population of Santa Rosa had grown to approximately 84,000 residents resulting in an annual ridership of 800,000 trips.
In 1983, Santa Rosa Transit was able to buy new buses. Prior to 1983 all vehicles in the CityBus fleet were purchased used from other transit providers. Federal grants funded the purchase of thirteen new Flexible Grumman buses at a cost of $111,560. CityBus was able to qualify for the funding by completing its first Short Range Transit Plan in 1981. Santa Rosa Transit leased nine 40-foot GMC buses from Seattle while waiting for the new buses to arrive. These buses had no power steering, no power brakes, and no air conditioning. To get them around the tight corners in some of the City’s older neighborhoods the drivers had to stand up and muscle the bus around the corner.
After receiving the buses in 1983, Santa Rosa Transit became the first transit provider in Sonoma County to have a completely accessible fleet. Santa Rosa Transit was also one of the first transit providers in California to provide complementary paratransit service.
The current operations of CityBus consist of fifteen local routes served by a twenty-eight vehicle fleet. CityBus also offers a deviated fixed-route service (Oakmont Route 16) and Santa Rosa ADA Paratransit.
Governance
The Santa Rosa City Council governs all elements of the City’s transit service. The City Council has seven members. Santa Rosa City Council member elections became district based starting in 2018. Voters elect one council member for the district they are registered in. Council members are elected to four-year terms, with elections every two years. Santa Rosa Transit Division staff present recommendations for transit services based on historical data, public input, and revenue and ridership trends and projections. The Santa Rosa City Council is responsible for acting on these recommendations to make policy decisions for the operation and administration of the services CityBus provides.
