Private company

Gold Coast Transit District

Bus operator in California, US

Gold Coast Transit District, formerly known as South Coast Area Transit (SCAT), is a local bus operator in western Ventura County, California, serving Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ojai, and the adjoining areas of unincorporated Ventura County. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 3,587,900, or about 11,700 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1973Founded1
Gold Coast Transit route 1A bus at Oxnard Transit Center, January 2015
Photo: George from Los Angeles, CA, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Gold Coast Transit District, formerly known as South Coast Area Transit (SCAT), is a local bus operator in western Ventura County, California, serving Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ojai, and the adjoining areas of unincorporated Ventura County. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 3,587,900, or about 11,700 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026.2

The story

Gold Coast Transit District was founded in 1973 as South Coast Area Transit with the merger of the Ventura City Transit Lines and the Oxnard Municipal Bus Lines. Until 1994, SCAT also served Santa Paula. Service to Santa Paula has since been replaced with VCTC Intercity fixed-route and dial-a-ride services. The system adopted the name Gold Coast Transit effective July 1, 2007. This accompanied a change in bus livery and the acquisition of 26 new buses.

In October 2013, California Assembly Bill 664 was chartered as the enabling legislation to transition Gold Coast Transit from a joint powers authority to a special purpose transit district. On July 1, 2014, the agency officially became Gold Coast Transit District. The district's founding member jurisdictions include the cities of Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Ventura and the County of Ventura. The bill allows other cities in Ventura County to subsequently join the district.

In 2014, GCTD leadership was recognized with the District being honored as the “Transit Agency of the Year” at the Small Operators award ceremony hosted by the California Transit Association (CTA)

as part of its 49th Annual Conference and Expo in Monterey, California.

On May 10, 2017 Gold Coast Transit District broke ground on a new operations and maintenance facility in Oxnard. The facility opened in July 2019.

From Wikipedia’s article on Gold Coast Transit, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Gold Coast Transit District provides bus service to these cities and communities:

Oxnard

Ventura

Port Hueneme

Read the full text

Ojai

El Rio

Saticoy

Oak View

Mira Monte

From Wikipedia’s article on Gold Coast Transit, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1973Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$194.7M 2008–2026
Figures by year
YearFederal grantsTotal
2026$12.8M$12.8M
2025$24.5M$24.5M
2024$15.0M$15.0M
2023$6.1M$6.1M
2022$10.2M$10.2M
2021$14.4M$14.4M
2020$23.6M$23.6M
2019$6.0M$6.0M
2018$9.3M$9.3M
2017$6.4M$6.4M
2016$6.0M$6.0M
2015$3.8M$3.8M
2014$22.6M$22.6M
2013$4.0M$4.0M
2012$4.8M$4.8M
2011$5.1M$5.1M
2010$9.7M$9.7M
2009$8.8M$8.8M
2008$1.6M$1.6M

Federal awards

Obligated amounts from USAspending.gov5, by calendar year, 2008–2026, for its registration. Obligations are what agencies committed, not always what was paid out. Contracts pay for goods and services; grants, loans and direct payments are assistance. Loans are charted at the face value of the loans listed here. An award’s amount below is its lifetime total, and some began before the years charted.

Largest grants

  1. Jul 18, 2014$15.0M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit_Capital Investment Grants6 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-04-0235-00
  2. Jun 20, 2020$14.1M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants7 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-2020-135
  3. May 2, 2025$12.1M from Federal Transit Administration: Buses And Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, And Low Or No Emissions Programs8 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-2025-054
  4. Jul 24, 2025$11.8M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants9 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-2025-150
  5. Dec 28, 2021$8.2M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants10 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-2022-016
  6. Jan 29, 2024$7.4M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants11 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-2024-016
  7. Jan 28, 2010$6.4M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit_Formula Grants12 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-96-X006-01
  8. Aug 30, 2024$6.0M from Federal Transit Administration: Federal Transit Formula Grants13 To GOLD COAST TRANSIT DISTRICT Award CA-2024-156