San Benito County bus riders will have a three-hour gap from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. with no service starting next week to help cut about
$125,000 from the local transit budget in light of the state
deficit. They also might eventually have to spare more change, too,
a local transit official said.
HOLLISTER
San Benito County bus riders will have a three-hour gap from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with no service starting next week to help cut about $125,000 from the local transit budget in light of the state deficit. They also might eventually have to spare more change, too, a local transit official said.
Starting Feb. 1, that service reduction for County Express will begin, as the Council of San Benito County Governments’ transit arm will cut mid-day service, dial-a-ride routes on weekends and service to Gilroy on Sundays, as well as reducing Saturday rides to Gilroy, said Mary Dinkuhn, the agency’s transportation planning manager. The transit agency also plans to limit service further when school is out of session, as Gavilan College students make up a “big chunk” of the ridership, she said.
Dinkuhn also noted that transit officials are examining proposed fare increases, which would go through the public hearing process before a possible vote for approval.
The cuts are in response to an edict from the state to slash $125,000 from the budget as legislators look to reduce the $42 billion budget deficit.
The state plans to cut the State Transit Assistance Fund in half this year and eliminate it altogether the following year – leading to the local reductions for 2008-09 and a potential for more next year, she said.
