It runs every day (20 trips per day on weekdays; 12 per day on weekends) between the Santa Cruz Metro Center at 920 Pacific Avenue and downtown San Jose. The trip takes between 53 and 70 minutes, depending on the time of day and whether or not the bus stops in Scotts Valley. Most trips take about an hour. Although weekend trips terminate at the Diridon Station in San Jose, weekday trips go all the way to San Jose State University at 5th and San Fernando Streets, with a stop at 1st and Santa Clara Streets in case you want to catch the Light Rail.

The complete schedule may be found here. The fare is $4.00 ($2.00 if you're 62 or over). You pay the driver; be sure to have exact change ready. Additional fare information may be found here.

The first main stop in San Jose is the San Jose Diridon Station, where one may connect with trains operated by Amtrak or Caltrain, or the VTA Light Rail Route 902. A little farther is 1st Street (or 2nd Street), along which run two VTA Light Rail Routes (901 & 902). Here one may also connect with any of a number of buses operated by VTA. A schematic but helpful map of the entire Highway 17 Express route (which VTA calls Route 970) may be found here. This map shows many of the intermediate stops, and lists connecting buses—both for VTA and our METRO.

(Note: Two VTA Light Rail routes share the 1st and 2nd Street segment: The 901 runs between Santa Teresa to the south and Tasman to the north, extending east to Alum Rock, while the 902 runs between Winchester to the south and Downtown Mountain View to the north, stopping at the Diridon Station prior to the 1st and Santa Clara stop. Both routes provide a link to the San Jose Airport, which we describe in more detail here.)

You can extend your trip using your bicycle

Each bus is equipped with a bicycle rack on the front of the bus, which will accommodate three bicycles. If you want to assure yourself of a slot for your bicycle, it's best to arrive early. If you arrive too late, all the slots may be taken, and you'll have to wait for the next bus if you want to use your bicycle to extend your trip.

Where to catch the Highway 17 Express

The principal boarding locations in Santa Cruz County for the Highway 17 Express bus are the Santa Cruz Metro Center on Pacific Avenue and the Scotts Valley Transit Center in Scotts Valley. In addition, seven of the weekday morning runs start from the Soquel Park & Ride Lot near the Dominican Hospital. The bus may also be boarded at any of a limited number of stops situated along the bus route—see the schematic map above, which lists most of them.

At the Santa Cruz Metro Center, the bus stop is located near the taxi stand on Front Street, as shown in the large image below. (A 17X bus is included in the image!)

Below is another large image that shows the location of the Scotts Valley Transit Center, next to the Kings Village Shopping Center. Free parking is also provided at this location.

Less well-known is a third location for boarding the Highway 17 Express—the Soquel Park & Ride Lot. Here also, free parking is provided, and the bus stop is adjacent to the parking lot. However, as noted above, only a limited number of morning trips originate from this location. Similarly, only a limited number of afternoon trips return to this location.

How to get back to Santa Cruz

The image below shows the San Jose Diridon Station, the location of the Light Rail (northbound on 1st Street and southbound on 2nd Street), along with the route followed by the Highway 17 Express bus. The 17X bus stop on 1st Street (for the return bus) is about half way between Santa Clara and San Fernando Streets, next to a pedestrian walkway that connects with 2nd Street. The bus is easy to recognize. It's the only one with the Santa Cruz METRO color scheme, and it has the “Highway 17 Express” banner on the side of the bus, like the image at the top of this page. As noted above, the schematic route map shows additional details regarding routes and intermediate bus stops. For your convenience, that map may be viewed here.

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