WATSONVILLE — For the first time in 16 years, the Watsonville Transit Center has a customer service booth.
The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) celebrated the installation of the fully staffed booth during a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday.
Two customer service representatives will be available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Transit Center, located at 475 Rodriguez St.
METRO Board Chair Jimmy Dutra said that not only will the Transit Center have its first customer service booth in 16 years, but it’s also the first time that it is a full-time position.
“We are pleased to bring this customer service to southern Santa Cruz County,” he said. “The Watsonville Transit Center provides a dry, safe and comfortable place for riders and residents to wait for their bus.”
Dutra noted that the booth is one of many projects that aim to “spruce up” the center, with new landscaping and an art project also in the works.
“It’s not going to stop with this,” he said.
METRO CEO Alex Clifford said installing a customer service center in Watsonville was one of his top priorities when he came on board with METRO three years ago.
He noticed that the Santa Cruz station had a “dominant” customer service presence, but nothing in South County.
When Dutra, who also serves on the Watsonville City Council, was appointed to the METRO board, he “lit a fire underneath us,” Clifford said.
“For me, I’m excited to have completed one of my initial goals,” he said, adding that “the potential of ridership is huge” in Watsonville.
With the opening of the customer service booth, South County residents can now attend a Paratransit assessment session, where previously they had to travel to Santa Cruz to do so.
The Watsonville Transit Center, which opened in 1995, also connects with Monterey-Salinas Transit, Greyhound, ParaCruz, a variety of taxi services and Santa Cruz METRO Fixed Route buses.
