• METRO Rolls Out New ‘One Ride at a Time’ Wildlife Buses in 2024
• Photographer Kevin Lohman Joins Agency’s Conservation Campaign
Santa Cruz, CA (Feb. 1, 2024)
With the start of the New Year, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) has unveiled more wildlife buses as part of One Ride at a Time, its acclaimed campaign to showcase the environmental benefits of transit, encourage bus ridership, and protect Santa Cruz County’s extraordinary natural resources. The new buses join the 22 photo-wrapped buses already carrying passengers throughout the region.
With this new wave of vehicles, METRO also welcomes a new partner to the One Ride at a Time campaign: Kevin Lohman, an award-winning photographer whose images of birds have been recognized by the National Audubon Society. Lohman’s image of a great horned owl fledgling graces one of the buses.
“We are delighted to welcome Kevin Lohman to the One Ride at a Time team,” said METRO CEO/General Manager Michael Tree. “His photography captures our region’s most iconic species and celebrates the incredible beauty and biodiversity of California’s Central Coast.”
Lohman joins renowned wildlife photographers Frans Lanting and Jodi Frediani in supplying the campaign
with breathtaking images of the animal and plant species that depend on the Monterey Bay ecosystem for their survival. By the end of 2024, about 30 wrapped buses will be traveling throughout Santa Cruz County and featuring inspiring images of birds of prey, whales, sea otters, mountain lions, redwoods and more.
“I am thrilled to join the dedicated team of photographers and environmental advocates behind METRO’s One Ride at a Time campaign,” Lohman said. “In its first year, the campaign has already done so much to raise awareness and funds for conservation in Santa Cruz County. I can’t wait to see the strides we will make together in 2024.”
Through One Ride at a Time, every ride on a METRO bus donates to METRO’s partners in protecting the environment, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Bay of Life Fund.
Every ride on a METRO bus takes cars off the road and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, METRO is converting its entire bus fleet to zero-emissions buses (ZEBs). At the end of 2023, METRO had nine ZEBs deployed in the county with more coming every year. To date, seven of the wrapped One Ride at a Time buses are ZEBs.
To read more about METRO’s strides toward increasing bus ridership and transitioning to a zero-emissions fleet, visit https://scmtd.com/en/onerideatatime
To participate in METRO’s One Ride at a Time program visit https://scmtd.com/en/onerideatatime and start logging your trips today.
25 logged trips = $10 donation to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation or the Bay of Life Fund thanks to program partner https://my.cruz511.org/