County Sees Surge in Public Transportation
By Santa Barbara News-Press, Calif.
Sep. 25–Ridership on Santa Barbara County bus lines have exceeded expectations, even after gas prices in the region fell below the bellweather $3 a gallon. During the just-ended July-August period, Santa Barbara MTD realized a 7 percent increase, City of Lompoc Transit registered a whopping 29 percent increase, and the Valley Express saw a 45.1 percent explosion.
Jonathan Dotson, project manager for American Star Transportation, the company responsible for the Lompoc transit system, said that new riders there started taking the bus because of the high gas prices, but stayed for the convenience.
“The COLT (City of Lompoc Transit) monthly rate is $38 a month and if you live within the city limits you can ride the bus for $18 month, so you can’t fill your gas tank up with that,” said Mr. Dotson. “After the rise in the California minimum wage we expected to see a drop in ridership, but there wasn’t one. People just realized how convenient it was after high gas prices forced them to ride and they saw no reason to stop.”
Lompoc Transit bus ridership increased 23 percent compared with August 2006. Nationwide, transit systems in similar-sized areas realized an average ridership increase of 5 percent.
David Damiano, manager of transit development for the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District, said that the City of Santa Barbara is experiencing the same trend.
“The price of gas is definitely a factor, especially from a regional perspective,” said Mr. Damiano. “The long distance routes are seeing the greatest increase in ridership, due to the high cost of living as a factor for commuting. The Valley Express service (from Buellton and Solvang to Goleta and Santa Barbara) saw the greatest ridership increase.”
Because of increased demand, Santa Barbara MTD has increased frequency on some routes, including the East Side Line No. 1 and the West Side Line No. 2, which both run within the city limits.
“The demand was such that buses were leaving passengers behind since there were so many people riding,” said Mr. Damiano, who noted that the No. 11 to Isla Vista and the No. 6 to Camino Real have also had bus frequency increased. “There is still a demand for service there.”
The number of retirees living on a limited income in the North County area is another reason for the proliferation of ridership.
“If you’re a senior citizen and you live in the city limits you can take the bus straight to your medical appointments for $9 a month,” said Mr. Dotson. “Every year the number of reduced passes we sell goes up, attributed to the growth of the senior population. When you never leave town it’s much cheaper to ride the bus instead of maintaining and insuring a car.”
Lompoc Transit senior citizen passes have increased 30 percent since July, and it is adding another Dial-a-Ride Bus for seniors and the disabled, which should be in operation by Jan. 1, 2008, according to Richard Fernbaugh, transportation administrator for the City of Lompoc.
Santa Barbara MTD senior citizen pass purchases have increased 8.3 percent since last year.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Santa Barbara News-Press, Calif.
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