Cerritos : New Shuttle Bus Service Is Free Through End of Month

Residents can get a free lift around town until the end of the month on the city’s new municipal bus system known as Cerritos on Wheels, or COW.

Three 18-seat shuttle buses pick up passengers at schools, malls, theaters and parks. Starting next month, the fare will be 25 cents.

The buses leave City Hall every 90 minutes and run on two routes. The first travels to the Cerritos Post Office, Cerritos Park East, Cerritos Towne Center, the senior center, Liberty Park, Cerritos College, Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos Regional Park and back to City Hall. The second route makes most of the same stops but travels in the opposite direction.

The buses, which began service last week, stop at more than 160 locations, including Cerritos, Gahr and Whitney high schools and Cerritos Auto Square. Many stops overlap connections with buses from Long Beach Transit and Orange County Transit.

The Cerritos buses run from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Service will not be available on major holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The service will cost the city $350,000 annually. Funding was provided through Proposition C, the half-cent sales tax increase that was approved by county voters in 1990.