Santa Barbara MTD is celebrating 50 years of service to Santa Barbara’s South Coast community. While an act of the voters officially created the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District in 1966, public transit service officially began on Feb. 1, 1969.

To share its history with the public, MTD has launched a webpage at sbmtd.gov/50years, which has been designed with an interactive timeline showing photos and news clippings of milestones from the past 50 years.

Additionally, community members are asked to share their favorite MTD stories. The webpage has a space where people can share their earliest MTD memory, favorite bus-riding story, or how MTD has helped connect our community.

To commemorate the occasion, the agency will host an event, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at the MTD administrative offices, 550 Olive St. A brief program will begin at 11:30 a.m.

The public is invited to enjoy refreshments, tour the district’s new buses, and help celebrate MTD’s golden anniversary. The John G. Britton Auditorium will be transformed into the MTD Museum, full of local transit artifacts and archives to explore.

Those having memorabilia to share can contact MTD, 805-963-3364 or info@sbmtd.gov.

Attendees are urged to arrive by transit; the Line 20 and Crosstown Shuttle serve the area near the event location.

— Hillary Blackerby for MTD.