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JAZZ Line Puts a Cultural Spin on Public Transit SHORTCUTS AT LARGE 66 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 B etween this year's Next Generation Jazz Festival performances, guests can step out of the Monterey Conference Center, stroll up the street and board a bus that doubles as a linear jazz museum. The Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) JAZZ line, which debuted late last year, connects Sand City and the Monterey Bay Aquarium via Fremont Street, Del Monte Avenue and Lighthouse Avenue. MST par tnered with Monterey Jazz Festival designers to outfit bus shelters along the route with memorabilia and historical information from the event: think con- cer t posters, stories about past presentations and rare festival photos, including shots of Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane. Passengers with smartphones can also scan QR (quick response) codes at shelters to download and listen to live performances from the Monterey Jazz Festival archives. Rider response is positive, and even non-riders stop to see the displays, says MST General Manager and CEO Carl Sedoryk. "You can go to these shelters and learn so much more than you might expect," Sedoryk says. "You can read about the festival. You can see the sights. You can listen to the sounds. It provides for a really unique multi- dimensional experience." While the JAZZ line adds a cultural component to public transit, it also eases congestion along the 6.75-mile route. More than 30 traffic signals were updated with technology that synchronizes and extends green lights to keep vehicles moving. Special lanes steer buses around traffic backups. Infrastructure improvements make the boarding process more efficient and more comfortable for riders with mobility issues. And MST tripled the number of shelters on the route to better serve passengers. "It's our busiest route all year round," Sedoryk says. "Visitors and resi- dents alike—hospitality workers, students, seniors, people going to med- ical appointments—they all see benefits from these improvements." For JAZZ route and fare information, visit www.mst.org or call 888/MST- BUS1. The Next Generation Jazz Festival takes place March 28-30. Entrance is free. Learn more at www.montereyjazzfestival.org. —Renee Brincks The Monterey-Salinas Transit JAZZ Bus connects Monterey Jazz Festival attendees to the performances. MST describes the service as "our one-of-a-kind JAZZ museum featuring the sights and sounds of the Monterey Jazz Festival, the world's longest running jazz festival." 046-76 Shortcuts_SU05 Carmel Magazine 1/27/14 4:07 PM Page 11