After a year of free rides, the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District’s on-demand service, the Wave, will begin charging passengers to board this week.

The MTD said the Wave charges a standard fee of $3 for general passengers and $1.50 for seniors and people with disabilities.

“We’ve been operating this on a pilot, and the rides have been complimentary to this point,” said MTD spokesperson Hillary Blackerby. “But now we have the payment system squared away, and so we will be charging starting July 1.”

Blackerby said passengers can still pay in exact change, use a credit card or debit card, or tap their phone.

The Wave service began in May 2025, offering passengers complimentary rides to and from specific areas in Isla Vista and Goleta.

Some specific pick-up and drop-off points include the Goleta Amtrak Station, Santa Barbara Airport, UC Santa Barbara Bus Loop and Isla Vista Community Center.

Blackerby encouraged residents to give the service a chance and said ridership has continued to grow.

“It’s an absolutely way better deal than you’ll get with any rideshare or taxi service,” she said. “And so, we hope that if people haven’t tried it out, they’ll try it out soon.”

The Wave service routes will also be expanded to Carpinteria in September.

Blackerby added that the service will cover the entire city and surrounding unincorporated areas like Santa Claus Lane.

Service will operate on the same schedule but may be restricted on some days due to events closing off the streets, such as the weekly farmers’ market or the California Avocado Festival.

Blackerby said the MTD also plans to add a new zone in Santa Barbara in the future.

She explained that the Wave was funded by temporary state grants. However, a loss of funding for the Low-Carbon Transit Operations Program, a state program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve mobility.

The program helped fund the Wave.

Blackerby said the MTD will maintain the Wave service in Goleta at least through June 2027, but the agency is not sure it will have funds for the service after that.