PPH Considering Shuttle Service for Sprinter-Riding Employees

By Andrea Moss, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.

Nov. 23–ESCONDIDO —- With the Sprinter due to start rolling next month, Palomar Pomerado Health is considering whether the district should provide a shuttle to ferry train-riding employees between the Escondido Transit Center and Palomar Medical Center.

The downtown Escondido hospital already offers free shuttle service to employees willing to park their cars at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, rather than the medical center.

The program was launched three years ago to ease a severe parking crunch at the hospital.

Tami Weigold, marketing and public relations director for the public health care district, said last week that the shuttle service could easily be expanded to include the transit center, if doing so makes sense.

“We’re going to survey our employees and see how many plan on using it,” she said about the train. “And depending on the need, we will absolutely look at adding a shuttle stop if we find that a lot of employees are going to use it.”

Workers are putting the final touches on the $440 million Sprinter line, in preparation for the light-rail train’s startup by the end of the year. The train will travel between Oceanside and Escondido along a 22-mile route that roughly parallels Highway 78.

The Sprinter will stop at 15 stations along the way.

Palomar Medical Center already encourages its employees who drive to work alone to consider alternative means of transportation, offering them gift cards and other incentives to do so.

Built in the 1950s and 1960s, the 14.5-acre medical center has about 995 parking spaces, including about 400 in a garage on the campus’ north end.

With an estimated 800 to 1,000 employees reporting to work on an average day, there often is little room for patients and visitors to park, said Kevin Matsukado, director of safety and security.

Palomar Pomerado shuttle driver Deborah Uesrivong said many of the employees she ferries have asked her whether the service will be expanded once the Sprinter starts up.

“They say they’re waiting for that to come through ’cause they say they would like to (ride the train),” said Uesrivong.

Palomar Medical Center’s mail clerk, Theresa Iraha, lives in San Marcos and rides the existing shuttle regularly.

“It’s very convenient, and especially for anybody coming from San Marcos (and areas farther west), it saves you gas money and time getting to work because you know somebody’s going to be there to pick you up,” she said.

North County Transit District is building the Sprinter line. Tom Kelleher, spokesman for the district, said its chief planner and Palomar Pomerado officials have discussed the possibility of a shuttle that would run between the Nordahl station and the new medical center planned for the west side of Escondido after it opens.

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