Jazz Rapid Transit: Linear Museum by Monterey-Salinas Transit

Monterey-Salinas Transit and the public celebrated the completion of construction work on the new JAZZ bus rapid transit (BRT) service. The public is encouraged to ride the JAZZ lines stopping at each of the custom-designed shelters for a complete history of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Tips for taking your bike on the bus:

• Highlight the Rider’s Guide tab with your mouse, then How to Ride, then Transit Tips. Click on Transit Tips, then scroll down for “Bike Loading Instructions.”)
• Click here for lots more bike-and-ride tips for MST (and other bike-and-ride options).
• Just fyi, bicycles ride MST free (with a paying passenger) anytime!

Get jazzed!

“What really makes JAZZ a “first of its kind” in the nation is our collaboration with the Monterey Jazz Festival, which has opened its archives for this project developing a year-round linear jazz museum that features dramatic jazz-themed displays at 30 new custom-designed shelters along the route.  We think locals and tourists alike are going to love it!” said Hunter Harvath, assistant general manager of MST.

The linear jazz museum begins with the first year of the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958 at Sand City Station. Posters reflecting each year of the Festival thereafter are displayed along the route running along Fremont in Seaside and North Monterey, continuing through downtown Monterey and along the visitor-intensive Lighthouse Avenue corridor in New Monterey, and turning around for a return trip near the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Once at a JAZZ shelter, passengers can scan the QR code on the display with a smart phone and be whisked away to a mobile site featuring songs from musicians featured at the Monterey Jazz Festival. The project also offers faster bus service, more shelters, and improved access for persons with disabilities, priority traffic signals for buses, and traffic signal coordination that will improve the flow of traffic throughout the cities of Sand City, Seaside and Monterey.

For more information, visit www.mst.org or call Monterey-Salinas Transit toll free at 1-888-MST-BUS1.

Thanks to Zoe Shoats of MST for the above information.

Vera Noghera, RN, treasurer of Velo Club Monterey, knows the many economic benefits of bicycling–including less money spent at the gas pump and the likelihood of reduced health care costs due to improved fitness.

Photos above are from the Veterans Day 2012 celebration of the MST Jazz Lines with U. S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  Click here to learn more!

And heads-up to youth:  MST has a Summer Youth GoPass at a great price! Click here for details and tips for youth.

For more tips for history buffs in Monterey County; click here.