Manteca Transit may be adding an all-day pass fare.

The proposal that would make using Manteca’s five fixed routes even more cost effective for frequent riders is being considered during a public hearing at the Manteca City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan, 20, at 6 p.m.
The hearing on possibly implementing an all-day pass charge precedes two workshops planned for Thursday, Jan. 29, seeking input from the community on how the city can improve routes and service.

The workshops are taking place Thursday, Jan. 29, at noon and 6 p.m. at the Manteca Transit Center, 220 Moffat Blvd.

The workshops are a precursor to a major revamp that will be coming in two phases with a targeted start of July 2026 and completed phase in by July 2027.

Not only will a fifth route be added and the current ones reconfigured, but they will be modified to be timed with ACE commuter train arrivals at the Manteca Transit Center.

ACE service from downtown Manteca to San Jose and Sacramento is now expected to start in the next two years.

Manteca Transit on Oct. 1 launched route adjustments that extended service to the city’s newest neighborhoods in fast growing southwest Manteca and the cluster of 1,301-home Griffin Park neighborhoods between South Main Street and Tinnin Road.

New residents in those neighborhoods are making use of Manteca Transit.

There was a time when bus service — even in Modesto and Stockton — relied heavily on low-income and elderly riders.

That has changed in recent years in Manteca.

New residents from the Bay Area, especially teens,  are used to making extensive use of transit.

At the same time, the percentage of teenage drivers have been dropping. A growing number are waiting until they turn 18 to get a license.

Vehicle ownership — once viewed almost as a rite of passage in high school — has been dropping among teens in California.

More and more teens are using Manteca Transit to go to school, return from school, or both.

In August, there were 2,046 high school and junior high students who took Manteca Transit to or from school or both.

That compared to 247 in August of 2019.

It reflects an increase of 18 times.

Students with school ID ride free at any time thanks to a state grant secured by the City of Manteca.

Manteca Unified — due to budget constraints — does not provide bus service for high school students that reside within 2.5 miles from campus.

That has been a big issue south of the 120 Bypass where students going to Sierra or Manteca high schools have to use freeway crossings or an undercrossing to reach school. It’s an even bigger issue to reach Manteca High given the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com