School buses in Paso Robles are going to look a little different this year—less yellow, more blue and green.
That’s because the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority, or RTA, is offering another bus route starting Aug. 14 to get students to and from school amid the Paso school district’s bus shortage and increasing ridership demands.
RTA Executive Director Geoff Straw said the city of Paso Robles and the transit authority have observed local bus routes A and B becoming more congested over the past couple of years, especially before and after the school bell rings.
“We call it crush loads during the bell times,” he said. “So right before school starts and right after school gets out, buses are fully loaded—people standing on the bus with no seats left,” he said.
The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District continues to reduce its school bus routes post-COVID, similarly prompting groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast to provide free after-school transportation for students in need this upcoming school year.
Paso Robles school board member Nathan Williams previously told New Times that the district is struggling to find bus drivers because of what he assumed to be the cost of living post-pandemic.
RTA Executive Director Straw told New Times that parents were reaching out about the issue.
“From what I understand, the number of routes they’re operating is down drastically from where it was even a couple of years ago. From parents every year we get more and more phone calls: ‘Hey, I don’t have access to a yellow school bus. What do I do here?'” he said.
About two years ago, RTA hired consultants and implemented a short-range transit plan that includes what Straw called a “school tripper.” The service costs students 75 cents each way and will cost the city about $35,000 a year, although this first year is covered by a California Low-Carbon Transit Operating Program grant, Straw said.
“So, we run another bus that sort of shadows the normal routes, A and B, depending on direction during the academic year,” he said. “Really focused on the junior high school and high school.”
The bus will appear as a normal RTA bus, but the headway sign will display as “tripper.” Although it is technically open to any rider, Straw said RTA is asking others to prioritize student ridership.
Trippers will also accommodate San Miguel students, Straw said, to hopefully alleviate the transportation barrier for more rural students.
“One of the buses will start up in San Miguel in the morning and then through the northern part of Paso Robles and then the two campuses,” Straw said. “Same thing in the afternoon doing the opposite—starting at the two campuses and then heading to the north part of Paso Robles and then all the way up into San Miguel.”
Straw said the school trippers will be visible on RTA’s app for tracking, and parents or students can purchase daily or monthly passes.
While Straw said North County has the greatest need for this service, students at Arroyo Grande High School will also see RTA buses shadowing bus routes 27 and 28 and costing students $1.50 each way.
If parents have questions about the bus route, Straw said to reach out to the transit authority.
“We encourage people to call us. We’ll map out exactly where and when to catch the bus, where the bus will be, and so forth,” he said. “So, if I have two kids, one going to Flamson [Junior High] and one going to high school, call us and we’ll map it exactly.” Δ
This article appears in Aug 14-24, 2025.