The Signal

Request your next ride with GO! Santa Clarita

- Cameron Smyth Cameron Smyth is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at csmyth@santa-clarita.com.

Like many of you, I have requested an Uber or a Lyft multiple times while out of town on business, or even here in Santa Clarita to get across town to meet friends or try a new restaurant

— and now, that same kind of on-demand service is available through Santa Clarita Transit. I am excited to let our residents know that the GO! Santa Clarita transit service has been relaunched, with an expanded service area and a new, user-friendly app.

Designed with you in mind, the service helps people get to Santa Clarita bus stops, stations or the Metrolink rail. Whether you live in Fair Oaks, Canyon Country, Newhall or Needham Ranch, you can enjoy the on-demand service by simply using the mobile app TripShot to order your ride and get to where you are going.

GO! Santa Clarita gives residents curb-tocurb rides within designated service areas. We want to make sure that whether you are attending school, going to a doctor’s appointmen­t, or just going to grab a bite to eat, that you can do it easily and affordably. Stops provided by this service include key locations throughout our city, like College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita Child and Family Center, local Metrolink Stations and Old Town Newhall. This expanded service helps fill gap areas that regular Santa Clarita Transit routes don’t service.

Ordering a ride is simple. Download the free TripShot app from your app store. Then, type in your location and request a ride. Both locations must fall within the designated areas. You can check by visiting GO-SantaClari­ta.com. As you wait, follow the progress of your driver in real time. The goal is to provide service within 15 minutes of your request.

If you cannot use the app, call 661-2956333 to request a ride. Go! Santa Clarita is available Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can enjoy this new service for the low price of $2 per trip or $1 for reduced-fare patrons. When you board the bus, paying is easy. Simply use your TAP card or the Token Transit app—both are contactles­s and keep you and our drivers safe.

To make sure everyone is safe during the trip, all GO! Santa Clarita buses undergo enhanced cleaning procedures. We have also added protective barriers to keep our passengers and drivers separated. Currently, we are only allowing a maximum of two passengers, from the same household, on board at a time. While on the bus, please be sure to keep your mask on at all times.

The city of Santa Clarita is always looking for ways to make life easier for our residents — and to keep our community clean and green. The GO! Santa Clarita service was created to bring down greenhouse gas emissions in California. In 2016, California lawmakers signed Assembly Bill 32, which extended the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This requires the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 40% below the 1990 level by 2030.

By implementi­ng several programs and measures — including GO! Santa Clarita — we have reduced communityw­ide greenhouse gas emissions by approximat­ely 193,000 metric tons, or 17%! Residents can learn more about what the city is doing to reduce greenhouse gases by reading the city of Santa Clarita’s Climate Action Plan.

GO! Santa Clarita is yet another service designed to make Santa Clarita a healthier and more accessible city for our residents. We are proud to offer our residents an additional opportunit­y to use our transit services, as well as step into the modern era of public transporta­tion. You can learn more about GO! Santa Clarita and its service areas by visiting GO-SantaClari­ta.com

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